Starkling
by The Hope Lions
Summary: From the moment Mary Sue Poots discovers a letter from her mother revealing that her father is Tony Stark, she knows nothing is ever going to be the same again. Beginning a few months before Iron Man and going up to the present, Daisy struggles to live, never mind live as Iron Man's daughter.
1. Chapter 1

Yay! New stories! So I'm obsessed with the idea and have probably read every single fic with this plot and there aren't enough so I decided to write one. This is the first one in a series of who knows how many. I'm writing the whole fic and then posting a chapter a day. This way if I get bored and don't finish the last published fic is complete and it seems like an appropriate ending. That sound good to you? Also note that timelines are for stupid people. In this fic Daisy was born July 2, 1992.

I hope you enjoy, and if you do please review.

* * *

Chapter 1

December 2007

Sister Olga was stupid.

Honestly, Mary Sue Poots didn't have a better adjective to describe the woman than that. Sure, nuns tended to be trusting, but this was an all time low. She honestly thought she could let Mary to digitize all the sealed adoption records and trust the girl not to look into her own? It wasn't even like Mary was known for following the rules. No, Sister Olga either was giving her permission to sneak a look at the sealed or stupid.

Actually, come to think of it, Mary was going to go with the former because well, if she was given permission, even implied permission, then it wasn't really wrong at all.

The file really wasn't half as exciting as Mary would have hoped. It listed her birthday as sometime early July or end of June, detailed the story of how she was found on the orphanage steps, and listed all the failed placements she'd gone through. None of it was really important at all.

Except for the letter no one ever thought to mention, the one that said- **On your 18** **th** **birthday.**

Mary was only 15, but no way in Heaven or Hell was she waiting another three years to read this document. The nuns had really left it unopened when it could have contained some clue as to who she was? Even a name they could have looked for instead of giving her such a stupid one. But of course they had not. Stupid goody-two-shoes nuns.

Well, Mary wasn't a goody-two-shoes and she wasn't waiting. She could have answers now, and while she was certainly not prepared for what this letter could tell her, she wasn't going to wait a minute before opening it.

 **My dearest Daisy,**

 **By the time you are reading this, I will be long dead. There are many things about our family, about yourself, that you deserve to know. I do not have time to tell you of these are going to be safe, and that is all that matters.**

 **Daisy, there are many things I wish I could tell you, but there are only two you must know. The first is that I love you more than anything in this world. I must send you away so you can live while I die, but know I love you even in the next life.**

 **The second thing you must know my sweet Daisy is that your father is alive. He does not know you exist, and I doubt he even remembers me. I do not know whether or not it would be good for you to go to him, but you deserve the opportunity to do so if you wish. So I will tell you his name, however much it hurts me. Tony Stark.**

 **Love you in any life,**

 **Your Mother.**

For a minute Mary couldn't breathe, and then she burst out laughing. This had to be some sort of joke. One of the other kids planted this letter to get a good laugh. Her father was not Tony Stark; the idea was too ridiculous.

So ridiculous that she laughed herself to tears, and brought Sister Olga down to check on her.

"Oh Mary," she whispered noticing the letter in the teen's hand. "We planned to give it to you when you turned 18, as the author requested. It was not our place to open it before then."

Mary stopped breathing. Wait, Sister Olga knew of this letter? Then… then it was really. It had really been left with her as a baby. This letter was actually from her mother. "Not your place?" When had those tears of laughter turned into tears of pain? "Not your place to read that letter and find out my name? Not your place to read that letter and tell me who my father is."

Sister Olga's face fell, "The letter speaks of your father?"

Mary nodded, tossing it at the nun's feet. "No wonder my mom left me here, she had to be crazy. She was probably lying about everything, not just who he was."

"Mary," the nun bent down, her robes rubbing against Mary as they had as long as the girl could remember. "Daisy," the teen looked up at the name her mom had written about. "I do not know if the content of this letter if true, but I have prayed to God every day that you would find your family. I swear to you that I will find out if this is true, if Tony Stark is your father."

Daisy suddenly wondered if she really wanted to know. Would it not be better just to take the new name and forget about the rest of the letter? Could she not just accept that her mom loved her and think her mom was delusional about whom her father was?

Unfortunately, she couldn't. Perhaps she really would have been better not to read the letter at all. Whether or not Tony Stark was actually her Father didn't matter-Daisy was well aware that her life would never be the same again.

From the moment Daisy first read that letter, her life shifted into a state of complete disarray. Sister Olga stayed true to her word and worked to get in contact with Tony Stark's assistant. Within days Sister Olga handed Daisy a kit. "The woman I talked to, a Miss Pepper Potts was very kind. She agreed to have a DNA sample tested, but wanted me to warn you that the chances of it being a match are very low. She has a half dozen people a year claiming they're a Stark, and none of them have ever turned out to be."

Daisy wasn't discouraged. If Tony Stark wasn't her dad she really didn't care that much. Actually, she was more concerned the test would come up positive. Taking on the name the letter gave her was easy- Mary Sue was the stupidest name ever. Taking on the father the letter named for her… well she wasn't even sure she wanted to.

But really, she had to. She couldn't just go on with her life pretending to be a normal high-school student. She couldn't just pretend that there wasn't a part of her that believed the letter, that believed Tony was her father. It seemed like a ridiculous idea, for someone like him to be related to her, but really it wasn't. He got around to dozens of women a year- surely he'd been with at least 50. And 98% of 50 was still one.

Was it likely she was that one, Hell no, but Daisy didn't doubt that somewhere out there Tony Stark had a child. And if he didn't he probably had a sibling, because Howard Stark wasn't exactly known for his chastity either.

Seven days. Seven days passed between when Daisy found the letter and when Sister Olga handed her a plane ticket. No words had to be spoken-both girls knew. The test came up positive; she was actually Tony Stark's daughter.

Daisy didn't know how to feel about that. The other kids, who'd somehow found out, were shocked. They swore it had to be some sort of mistake because no way could poopy Poots be Tony Stark's daughter. He was a billionaire genius… she… she was an awkward teenager who always got herself sent away.

But whatever the case, it was done. She knew who her father was. She wasn't an orphan. She was going to Malibu, and she was going to meet her father.

If a month ago someone told Daisy she was being flown out to Malibu to meet her father or to meet Tony Stark she would have been thrilled. Knowing they were the same person, however, well that put a damper on things. It shouldn't have, but it did.

The issue was that Tony Stark was not a father. Sure, the test said he was, but that didn't change what was in his heart. Was he a genius? Yes. Could he build any device you wanted? Sure. Did he know what it meant to be a responsible adult? Hell no. The only reason Daisy even existed was because of his less-than-clean lifestyle. The man was all flair no sincerity.

Daisy loved Tony Stark. She admired him and his work. She just didn't want to be his daughter.

But she was, and she had to accept it. Her life was never going to be normal because she chose to read that letter while still underage. In the morning she was going to board a plane and tomorrow night she will have met her father. Whatever happened now was certainly not the life of Mary Sue Poots-it was the life of Daisy Stark.


	2. Chapter 2

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THE ENTHUSIASTIC RESPONSE! 10 REVIEWS! 190 READERS! 22 FOLLOWERS! 12 FAVORITES! 1 COMMUNITY! IN LESS THAN 24 HOURS! You're all fantastic and I love you so much. Now, here is chapter 2. FYI I am posting every day for this whole fic. There may or may not be a break between fics but once a fic is posted baring death there should be an update daily. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 2

Daisy stepped from the plan and looked around. LAX was different from how she pictured. It was more crowded... and dirty.

"Daisy?" She turned to see a woman standing behind her. Pepper Potts-it just went to show how obsessed with Tony stark she'd been long before she was Daisy. "You look like Mr. Stark."

Daisy liked Pepper immediately because she didn't call Tony her father. Daisy would have probably had a full on panic attack at that. She was dealing remarkably well because she was used to a weird life. Still, she had her breaking point.

"He would have come himself," Pepper assured when the teen didn't reply. Suddenly, Daisy realized she wasn't the only nervous one. It was just as weird for someone to discover they have a long lost daughter as to discover you have a billionaire father. (Actually, Daisy had an easier time. Everyone has some sort of father, no everyone has a daughter.) "But he had to meet with his lawyer."

Daisy couldn't help but wonder if, perhaps, he was trying to find a way to keep from having to keep his daughter. Well, he should have thought about that 16 years ago, before she existed.

"Daisy," Pepper repeated pulling the girl from her thoughts. "I have known Tony Stark for a very long time. When I told him what the lab had said I saw a look I'd never seen before. I saw hope in his eyes. Mr. Stark can be a difficult man, but I think you are probably the best thing ever to happen to him."

Parents always said that, but Daisy had never had a parent to make her believe it. She found it hard to believe that Tony stark would be the one to do so.

Pepper read the wariness in the teen, but attributed it to the normal nerves that come with being adopted by your famous long lost father. (Is there anything normal about that?) "Daisy, this is Happy," Pepper introduced carrying on as if Daisy was actually paying much attention. "Mr. Stark has asked him to step up as your driver." Daisy recognized the man from the many Tony Stark videos she'd watched. Sure, he was certainly Tony's driver, but she was fairly certain he was more there because he could hold his own in a fight. Well so could she. You didn't come out of the system knowing nothing.

Daisy felt her breath leave her. She was out of the system. She'd always assumed she'd age out or run away first, but no. She was going to be legally adopted by her biological father. She wasn't little orphan Mary and more. She was… she was really Daisy Stark. (Or she would be in a few hours.)

"Thank you," she smiled, and Pepper breathed a sigh of relief. Daisy hadn't even realized that she hadn't yet spoken a word. It must have seemed a little odd. "You too Ms. Potts, for coming to pick me up."

Pepper smiled, "Please, call me Pepper. I'm sure we will be seeing plenty of each other, there's little need for formality."

Happy chuckled. "She doesn't even let Mr. Stark call her Pepper," he muttered under his breath and Daisy smiled. She was entering territory even Tony Stark couldn't; anyone would agree that that was cool.

The car ride was about an hour, and Daisy spent it silently listening to her I-pod and mourning the loss of her shotgun privileges forever. You just don't ride shotgun in a limo.

Granted, it was kind of cool that her ordinary means of transportation now included a driver, but it just went to show how much her life had changed in the last week. In many ways though it was for the better, and Daisy just had to keep reminding herself that. She always wanted a family, and now she had one. Even if it was only a dad, and a dad not exactly known for his responsibility. She was finally getting a clue of who she was, and it felt amazing. Perhaps that was why she hadn't completely broken down over the events. While it wasn't always bad, there had been nothing good about her life as Mary Sue Poots. While it was possible her life as Daisy Stark could be far worse, it could also be better. For the first time in a very long time Daisy had hope about her future, and it was nice.

Daisy looked around the limo. Pepper and Happy were talking softly in the front, but with the screen up she couldn't make out what they were talking about. Probably her. She doubted many other things were as worthy to be discussed at the moment.

There was something lying on the other end of the back, and curiosity got the better of her. Carefully Daisy made her way over to it, only tumbling once when the car stopped suddenly. She suspected the adults in the front could hear her missteps, but they were kind enough not to mention them. Happy was most certainly being added to the list of people Daisy liked.

It was a dress. Nothing remarkably fancy, and obviously picked out by Pepper, but still a dress. On top of it was a little note card and a message scrawled in handwriting of a terrible caliber. **Only I'm allowed to wear jeans to court. –Tony**

Court. Daisy had forgotten that that was where they were going. Tony Stark was going to sign a dozen forms in front of a judge, all because a lab said he was her dad. God, she hoped that lab wasn't wrong.

She changed quickly, and found herself smiling. The dress was something you could have picked up at Macy's and that made her feel all the more comfortable in it. Being rich was probably something she'd get used to really easily, but it was nice not to look like a movie-star. Plus, it was a nice, deep pink, and she'd always loved that color.

Daisy was glad she'd changed when she did, because soon after the screen rolled down and Pepper called to her. "Daisy, I need to warn you. Mr. Stark just called and said the courthouse is already crawling with reporters. I'm sorry, I hoped it would take at least a few days for them to find out."

One of the kids at St. Agnes probably sold her out for Dunkin' Donuts money, but Daisy wasn't going to let it bother her. Okay, so apparently she was going to be the next cover of those tabloids in the grocery line. There were worse things, like being an orphan. She had to focus on the positive. She was finally meeting the family she'd longed for all her life. This was a good thing; the bad parts of it didn't change that.

Daisy caught sight of a flash through the tinted windows, and sucked in a deep breath. She could do this. Happy moved to block her from sight as he opened the door, but the clicking flash of cameras was blinding. Daisy stumbled getting out of the car and felt a tight hand on her wrist. Pepper nodded to her, urging the girl onwards, and together the two of them forged their way through the bombarding questions and cameras towards the sealed courtroom. They were undoubtedly the longest 100 yards Daisy had ever walked, but with Pepper by her side she kept walking until the door shut behind her and the noise faded into the distance.

She was about to breathe a sigh of relief when Daisy looked up, and saw him standing at the front of the room.

In person, Tony Stark looked very different from how he did on a screen. The ruffle in his hair seemed more natural. His jeans were wrinkled and stained. He looked… well not hot. If he was too old for her before knowing he was her dad certainly kept those thoughts away. Still, he looked human. He looked like a living, breathing person. Like a typical dad even, if you could forget the camera crews outside begging for a photo.

Pepper ushered Daisy into the first row of benches, and the judge coughed to get Tony's attention. It took him a minute to pull his eyes away from his daughter and face the judge. "Now that the minor is present, we can begin," the judge announced. He looked bored, and Daisy wondered how he could be that good of an actor. Surely he was the least bit interested in the shocking news that Tony Stark had a daughter. Everyone had to be at least a little interested; it was a big deal. "Mr. Stark, you wish to sign a voluntary paternity form."

He didn't turn around the least bit, but Daisy felt his eyes on her. "I do."

"The minor is now in the custody of the State of New York. You understand that by signing this form you would relieve the State and become her sole legal guardian."

Daisy couldn't see his face as he stood awfully close to the judge, but she heard the smile in his reply. "Yes, yes, I have read the laws."

The judge didn't seem amused, but he carried on. "And you understand that since no mother is known you are responsible for all legal and economic care of the minor?"

"Yes," he replied before turning and flashing a dorky grin at Pepper. "Is that a rare one, no mother? I feel like it has to be?"

"Can I carry on Mr. Stark?" the judge interjected dryly. "Or do you wish to continue with your humor." Daisy suddenly realized that this judge had probably met Tony before. The man was no stranger to trouble- that was for sure. "Mr. Stark, the State of California has offered a paternity test done through the department of Child Welfare at no cost to you. Do you understand that by signing this form will make you the minor's legal father even if a later private paternity test determines you are not the minor's biological father except in the case when a court-ordered paternity test reveals another father."

It sounded like a lot of legal mumbo-jumbo that boiled down to him not being able to un-sign this form. Daisy couldn't help but feel pleased to realize the paternity test they'd already done did not force Tony to adopt her. He was doing this because he wanted to, to some extent at least. It was a nice thing to know.

"The test I had done is plenty of proof for me, yes I understand the terms. Do you have many more pages of formalities to read or can we get on with this?"

The judge looked ready to slap Tony, and Daisy had to snort back a laugh. She did a really terribly job at it though, and received an approving smile from Tony and a reprimand from Pepper for it. "That is all form NC-90. As for form NC-130. This calls for the request of a name change from Mary Sue Poots to Daisy Stark. The reason given is 'the name Mary Sue Poots was given to her by the nuns at St. Agnes Orphanage and that a recent document from the presumably deceased mother indicates her first name was supposed to be Daisy and as her biological father you wish for her surname to reflect your own.' Is that correct Mr. Stark?"

Tony turned back towards Pepper, and then to the judge. "I'm pretty sure it was supposed to include the words 'Also Mary Sue Poots is the stupidest name on the face of the planet and condemns anyone to a life time of torture, but what you have will suffice."

"Miss Poots," the judge called and Daisy looked up surprised to be addressed as more than 'the minor.' "Though it is not legally binding I am allowed to ask your opinion on the name change. Do you wish for your name to be legally changed from Mary Sue Poots to Daisy Stark?"

In an instant, she thought about all the other names she could pick. Daisy Stark was so conspicuous. Maybe she could make up another name, like Daisy Johnson. Or something cooler, like Skye Stark, or even just Skye. Still, it would be wrong to do so. It seemed Daisy Stark was the name she should have always had, in the right life, so Daisy Stark her name would be. "Yes I do."

"Very well then," the judge nodded looking almost with pity on Daisy. "Mr. Stark please sign here and here." Tony did so with only a second's hesitation, and then the judge stamped it. In a single moment she was truly a new person. Mary Sue Poots, orphan, was replaced by Daisy Stark, daughter of Tony Stark.

She was finally starting to know where she came from, and it was a wonderful feeling.


	3. Chapter 3

All I have to say is Jessica Jones, who's with me?

Also, thanks again for your lovely response. I love you all.

* * *

Chapter 3

Daisy stared daunted at the courthouse doors. The minute she walked through them again they would be hounded. Except this time it would be worse because Tony would actually be with her.

Tony, who had yet to actually say even one word to the girl he'd just legally recognized as his daughter seemed to know this. "Let's have a press conference."

It goes to show how much self control Pepper had because she didn't slap him. "Mr. Stark! I don't think now…"

"No," he cut off (because he'd never waste time letting someone finish their argument before ignoring it.) "Now is the time. Look at them out their scrambling like dogs. Half of them have already figured out who she is, and the other half probably think she's suing me for child support. You call everyone together and…"

"Mr. Stark"

"No, you're right. We don't need an official one, the press are already here. I'll just go out there and set the record straight." He was already moving for the door when Pepper spoke up again.

"Mr. Stark, I insist you listen to me. Do you honestly think it's a good idea to do this now before you and Daisy have even had a chance to talk?"

That slowed the man down, and he turned to face the teen. "She's right, I'm sorry. I was so focused on keeping you from being subjected to rumors I did not think. We can wait, do a press release later. It's not fair to you…"

"It's fine," Daisy's voice came out a bit snippy, but she was feeling thoroughly overwhelmed. "It's much harder to convince people of the truth after they've heard the lies. We should just do it now."

Pepper didn't look pleased, but Tony did. Daisy suspected this was his plan all along and that's why he had the dress. Really, it was just what had to be done, and Daisy was going to do it.

"You remind me of your mother," the words shocked them all, but Tony shrugged. "I had a friend look into your DNA sample and she's pretty sure your mom was Chinese. I can do the math and Ji-Ying was the only one then."

Daisy found it off that the revelation of her mom's likely identity was less of a shock than Tony Stark truly remembering a woman he was with 16 years before.

"I had a few contacts look into her," Tony admitted not meeting Daisy's eyes. "I'm sorry, but she died over 15 years ago. The danger she wrote about was real after all."

Daisy tried not to be bothered with the news of her mom's death. One parent was more than Daisy ever expected to find. Why should she mourn a woman she didn't know?

"I'm in contact with a few people over there," Tony continued moving as if he was going to grab he shoulder but decided otherwise last minute. "I'm going to found out what happened. She was a good woman."

"Thank you."

The darkness in Tony's eyes disappeared as quickly as it came. "It's nothing, now come on before someone gets impatient and prints a headline about me being arrested for statutory rape."

Of course that led to Daisy's face being bright red as she stepped out of the courthouse, but at least she wouldn't look dead in the pictures.

Tony, for his part, did not walk out of the courthouse, he strutted. The man grew up in front of the press and had gotten past caring about them decades before Daisy was born. Someday she suspected her response would be much the same.

Carefully, Tony plopped down on the steps and motioned for Daisy to sit beside him. "Fancy meeting you all here," he chuckled motioning to the flashing cameras." Now, I hate to disappoint, but for once I am at court and not in trouble." Everyone laughed, and he actually did clasp Daisy's shoulder this time (albeit awkwardly). "Well I'm sure she'll be plenty of trouble considering, but that's half the fun." Daisy tried to laugh, but found it difficult. Could he move his damn hand?

Tony carried on, despite the only response being the shuttering of cameras. "Many of you have probably guessed who this is, but it'd like to make it clear for those of you slow on the uptake. Her name is Daisy Stark, and she is my daughter." A thousand question were thrown out at once, but Tony just laughed them all off. "No, I did not know about her until about a week ago. Daisy's mother was killed while she was a baby and the nuns of St. Agnes Orphanage in New York cared fro her until the time when a letter from her mother identifying me as her father was found."

One reporter, a woman who knew about diaphragmatic breathing, called out louder than the rest. "How can you be sure that her claim is true and not just a ploy to get at Stark Industries?"

"A paternity test has vindicated the claim. There is no doubt in my mind that Daisy is my daughter by blood as much as by law. If that makes her the heir to the company I got from my father, it is only her right."

That stopped Daisy. With everything else she'd been processing, being an heiress was not one of them.

"Other questions?" Tony offered looking around. "You, in the pink suite."

It was more maroon, and Tony would have known that. Typical him pretending not to. "Does this mean that Daisy will be involved with Stark Industries? Will this affect the direction of the company?"

"Daisy is only 15," the way he answered reminded everyone about his lack of childhood. "Right now she is to focus on her studies and let her father focus on the multi-billion-dollar corporation."

"Miss Stark, what was your reaction to this news?"

Daisy went to answer, despite not knowing what she would say, but Tony's glower at her and the reporter stopped her. "That will be all."

Happy cleared a path back to the car and the Starks forced through the cameras. Daisy didn't take a breath until the tinted windows shut out the flashes.

"You good?' Tony asked sounding sincere for once in his life. "They can be rough."

Daisy nodded, "I'm fine, and I could have answered the question you know. I'm not a porcelain doll."

Tony looked as if he wasn't sure whether or not to punish her for her rudeness. He really had no idea how to be a father. "You answer one question for them and they will never stop asking. They shouldn't have the right to your life, and yet, because of me, they will always think they do."

Daisy felt the sudden urge to hug him and apologize for Howard Stark's actions, but she figured it wouldn't be much appreciated.

"Yeah," Daisy finally settled on muttering. She was beginning to feel incredibly awkward. They were talking now, but not about any of the things you normally do when you first meet a person.

Tony was probably feeling the awkwardness too, because he knocked on the screen and watched it toll down. "Yes, sir?"

"Can you grab us some burgers on the way back to the house?" Tony turned to Daisy. "You do like burgers, right?"

"Actually I'm a vegetarian." Tony looked horrified, like he was wondering for the first time if they were really related, "Oh God, you're hilarious. Yes, I like burgers."

Tony smirked, "Good, because I had to disinherit you on the first day."

"Well, there is plenty of time left for that."


	4. Chapter 4

Until the day you stop being so I will continue to say how fantastic you all are.

* * *

Chapter 4

Daisy had seen pictures of Tony's mansion before, but they didn't do it justice. Modern in every way, and yet just as elegant as Versailles. And the view!

"What?" Tony asked noticing her staring out the window as they pulled in. "You look like you've never seen the ocean before."

Daisy didn't even turn her eyes away from the rippling waves when she replied, "I haven't." Few things could shut Tony Stark up, but his daughter seemed to be one.

"Pepper," Tony called as they pulled through the gates. "Remind me to add Daisy's fingerprint to J.A.R.V.I.S's database so she can get in." She wasn't surprised that the physical security was as tight as the cyber one. One wouldn't expect Tony Stark to value his privacy, but how far back the mansion was from the gates said otherwise. Daisy could almost imagine she wasn't the talk of the town it was so secluded, and she certainly liked it.

She entered the house warily, wondering at the sights. It even smelled nice, which was not something you'd expect from a house solely populated by a man. Everything about it was sheer perfection, and that was the best way Daisy could describe it.

"Welcome home Sir," J.A.R.V.I.S chimed in startling Daisy. It was one thing to know about the spectacular AI, and a whole other to hear it in action. Honestly, AI didn't do J.A.R.V.I.S justice. He was a spectacular feet of coding and engineering, the pinnacle of Tony Stark genius. Oh sure, he could build weapons to end wars before they began, but J.A.R.V.I.S, J.A.R.V.I.S was the true Tony Stark. Everyone knew that. "Welcome Miss Stark, it's nice to meet you."

Daisy almost felt like fangirling, which would have been odd because she would kind have been fangirling over her dad. (But she had fangirled over Tony Stark before, and had many thoughts that made her wish brain bleach existed now that she knew.) "Oh no, I'm not letting the coolest piece of technology ever call me Miss. Daisy, please, you too Pepper and Happy, please, please, please call me Daisy." She didn't mean to sound desperate, but the name really bothered her. The Miss was bad enough, but even if it was now her name being called a Stark still felt wrong.

"J.A.R.V.I.S, how did you know who Daisy was?" Tony called fiddling with a tablet in the corner of the room. He looked so casual, so at home. Perhaps because it was his home, and it was Daisy's now too. Now that was weird. (She seemed to be using that word a lot.)

"It's on the six o'clock news sir," J.A.R.V.I.S replied pulling up a hologram video of the two on the courthouse steps. Daisy couldn't help but realize how much she actually did look like her dad. Not so much physically, but they held themselves the same way. They looked calm, but the anxiety in their eyes were identical. Everything was so obvious in retrospect. "And has garnered over a million views on YouTube."

Well, Daisy wasn't going back to a normal life any time soon. That ship had very much sailed, whether she wanted it to or not.

"Not bad," Tony noted dryly. "Pepper, if you wouldn't mind staying to help Daisy settle in, I need to go do some tweaks on Jericho…" His assistant didn't even get a chance to reply before he disappeared into the basement.

Pepper rolled her eyes at the man. "His lab is down there," she explained. "And Jericho is his newest project which somehow will be ready for testing in the field by the beginning of May." That seemed like a short time to design a weapon to Daisy, but what did she know about those. Engineering wasn't really her thing at all, and certainly not weapons.

"I see," Daisy muttered lingering around the room trying to take in the sights. She was beginning to feel exhausted, but the adrenaline was still pumping strong. It was an odd feeling, but Daisy was beginning to get used to odd. She'd have to the way her life was going right about now. "You can leave you know, if you had plans. He didn't exactly ask you if you did. I don't need a babysitter."

Pepper chuckled, and went to make some tea for the two of them. "Tony never asks; it's his way. I don't have anything to do though, don't worry. Besides, you don't really want to spend your first night alone, do you?"

No, Daisy really didn't. She still felt bad for Pepper though. The woman had done so much beyond her job description, but Tony looked right through her. "I'm probably going to turn in early. The jet lag is certainly getting to me."

Pepper nodded, handing over the tea. Somehow she knew Daisy took cream but no sugar, and Daisy wondered if her dad did the same. "I'll show you to your room after you finish your drink." Daisy started sipping, not wanting this obvious chat Pepper had planned to last very long. "I called one of the private schools in town while waiting for your plane to land and they faxed over the enrollment forms. It will take until Monday to process them so you can take the four day weekend to relax and settle in. The guidance officer also gave me the name of a couple tutors…"

"Does Tony know about my grades?" Daisy fretted standing quickly. "Oh my God he must hate me for being so dumb. No wonder he won't talk to me he probably thinks I'm a blundering buffoon who can't even finish a sentence!"

Pepper seemed shocked by the teen's outburst. "I haven't shown your transcript to Tony Daisy, and he doesn't hate you!"

"Please don't show him," Daisy begged tears practically streaming from her eyes. "He might not hate me now that he doesn't know but if Tony Stark realizes his daughter is a solid D student he will disown me for real. I'll talk to the guidance councilor first thing Monday and try to convince him to let me start new and not count my grades, just please don't tell him."

"He shouldn't have made that joke," Pepper grumbled before hugging Daisy tight. "I won't tell him. If it comes to it you can tell him. But I promise you Daisy he won't be angry and he won't think you're dumb just because you don't do well in school. There are plenty of geniuses who dropped out… Not that I'm giving you permission to be one!"

Daisy smiled a bit at the end, but she still felt terrible. At her age Tony was already attending MIT, and she couldn't even reach 'average' in Algebra I. "Thank you Pepper. I just… I just don't want him to be disappointed in me."

"I know," Pepper understood what it felt like trying to live up to Tony Stark's expectations, and it was an impossible goal. The man was never truly satisfied with himself, never mind others. "Come on, you've had a long day, I'll show you to your room."


	5. Chapter 5

I forget who asked for some Tony/Daisy scenes, but this is for you. Also, sorry if Tony sounds OOC. I just can't get a handle on his voice. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 5

When she awoke the next morning, Daisy had none of that confusion you always read about. Nothing came flooding back to her because in a very real way she'd already internalized everything that happened.

"Good morning Daisy," J.A.R.V.I.S's voice would probably take some getting used to though, because she nearly jumped out of her skin. "Miss Potts has left some clothes outside your door and your father has attempted to cook breakfast. I silenced the fire alarm so not to wake you."

Daisy groaned and started to dress before wondering if J.A.R.V.I.S had cameras for eyes. Deciding that it was better to believe he didn't, she changed into some jeans and a sweater before J.A.R.V.I.S spoke up. "Daisy, the current temperature is 71 degrees Fahrenheit. You might wish to change." Right, this wasn't New York where you were frozen solid from October to April. Quickly she changed again, before heading out.

It was a good thing Tony had attempted to cook, because the brief tour Pepper gave last night was nonexistent in Daisy's mind. Had the kitchen not stunk of burning waffles, she could have been lost in the maze forever.

"Oh good, you're up," Tony greeted sliding a box of donuts towards her. Daisy wondered if he knew anything about the eating habits of a teenage girl as she took one and listened to him ramble. "So I was thinking we should go do something fun, talk, get to know each other…"

Daisy bit her lip to keep from laughing. "You don't have to do that you know, right? I get that this is really weird."

"Oh I know." Yes, because Tony Stark would never admit to not knowing something. "I want to get to know you Daisy, they may call me heartless but I'm not."

No, he wasn't. He was just a socially inept genius. (Daisy could relate to that, minus the genius part.) "I don't think anyone calls you heartless. Emotionally despondent maybe, but not heartless."

"Emotionally despondent," Tony repeated to himself with a grin. "Well then. I had Pepper clear my schedule so we're free to go."

Daisy saw no use fighting him, and had to admit she was kind of excited herself. She was finally getting a chance to know her family, to know who she was. "Where are we going?"

"Disneyland."

"Disneyland?"

"Disneyland."

Tony Stark's idea of disguise was pretty pitiful. He thought putting sunglasses on made them unrecognizable. Daisy thought this was sure to be a failure of a bonding experience. Still, it was Disneyland, and she'd never been. However long this lasted she'd enjoy it.

One of the perks of being with Tony Stark was the lack of budget. They got fast passes and handed out bribes to anyone who'd let them cut. (Those in line for Space Mountain got quite rich. It was of course totally Daisy who wanted to ride it six times in a row, and not Tony at all.)

Daisy found herself laughing hysterically most of the time as Tony rambled about how they could optimize the rides with a few simple tweaks. "You should open your own theme park," she encouraged after he tore apart the use of robots and not holograms in Splash Mountain. "A pot of coffee and you could draw up all the plans in a day."

"I doubt the safety commissions would appreciate me designing anything meant for entertainment," Tony grinned probably imagining how to put rocket launchers on a roller-coaster. "What about you, you want to open the park yourself."

She laughed at the idea. "I wouldn't know how to design bumper cars."

Tony stopped smiling, and Daisy wanted to shoot herself. Stupid, stupid, stupid. She just had to admit to her incompetence and ruin everything. "You know how a car runs though, right?" She shook her head. "Now that's just unacceptable, what kind of irresponsible father would allow that?" Wait, was that a joke? He wasn't annoyed she didn't know how to be a mechanical engineer? "When we get home I'll teach you, and then you can build all the bumper cars you want."

They went to get a late lunch, and Tony got up the courage to ask the real question. "So, Daisy, what do you like to do?"

"Um…" What did she like to do? "I guess I…" Well she did lots of chores and hung out with 'friends'. "I…" But did she actually like doing that? Not really. So what did she like to do? "I don't know, just things."

 _Wow, nice going Daisy, that was just a great response._ She thought to herself wishing she'd come up with something better. "Normal things I guess. I watch TV, muddle through the internet. Nothing cool. I'm not into hacking the Pentagon or whatever if that's what you're asking."

"Well I'm glad for that," Tony decided trying to sound less disappointed than he actually was. Going to Disneyland for a day was one thing, but he certainly didn't know how to act around a teenage girl, especially one who didn't appear to be anything like him. "My father was furious the day I did that, said he expected more from his son. I guess he thought if I was going to hack some government I should at least make it the Soviets."

Daisy was so desperate to change the subject she didn't even think about her next question. "Tell me about him, your dad I mean, and your mom."

Tony seemed taken aback by the question, but he plopped another fry in his mouth without missing a beat. "My mom was wonderful. She fell in love with my father despite his reputation and managed to keep him straight. She was kind, mild-mannered, but she knew how to hold her ground… They never fought. Usually my father got what he wanted, but on those occasions when she wouldn't give in all she had to do was give him that look… When she turned that look on me I took off running to do whatever she'd told me to. She was loving though, and so charming. I think… I think if I'd named you I would have named you after her." In a way Daisy had lived under Maria's name for 15 years as Mary. It was a nice tribute if accidental.

Daisy knew that Tony and Howard Stark had a rocky history, but she couldn't help herself. No one with the last name Stark was ever known for their self-control. "And your father?"

"I suspect you understand me more in two days than I ever understood my father," Tony's voice wasn't bitter per-say, but he certainly wished she hadn't asked. "He loved America, he loved my mother, and he loved his work in that order. I spent most of my childhood messing with one of those three, so we were usually at odds. Beyond that, well he died before growing senile so I could never get a straight answer out of him."

"He loved you too," Daisy assured knowing it was true but unsure how to make him believe it. "More than those other three things combined I'm sure."

Tony nodded, "Your mother, she said the same exact thing." Daisy was shocked to hear that. How well did he actually know Ji-Ying? "It wasn't just a one night stand Daisy; I was with your mother for quite a few months. It started out like that but then… well let's just say I've never had a girl follow me across the Pacific Ocean to demand a second date." Daisy smiled; it was a cute story. "We met in July and she left in November, right after Thanksgiving," his smile fell a bit. "She came to my parents funeral. If she didn't know she was pregnant when she first left she did by then." And she'd just never told him, never wanting him to know about Daisy. "You know she actually forced me to go spend that Thanksgiving with my parents, something I'm eternally grateful for. It was probably the last time I had a civilized conversation with my father, and you know what he said to me? He said 'marry that girl Tony. When you find someone like that you marry her.'"

"That whole story is a load of crap, isn't it?" No way could a story that picturesque be true. "It's too perfect."

The man shrugged, and paid the bill. "When you consider how it ends it's far less perfect. She's dead. I'm no more settled down than I was then. And you ended up an orphan. That which starts nice rarely ends well."

Daisy and Tony's relationship was beginning well, and she couldn't help but wonder if that prophecy would come true again.


	6. Chapter 6

That Civil War trailer though.

* * *

Chapter 6

The rest of the weekend was pretty anti-climatic. On Saturday Tony had to go to give some talk he'd 'remember the subject of by the time he got there.' Daisy couldn't help but wonder why he was one of the most sought after speakers with an attitude like that, but being a genius probably helped.

On Sunday, Daisy thought he was still out, but discovered when he wandered upstairs for dinner that he'd just been down in his lab tinkering. He did attempt to explain what he was doing, but she tuned him out after the word 'quantum' popped up. They ate in silence after having gotten Chinese Take-Out, but it was a comfortable silence. There were enough things to occupy their minds that they didn't need to add idle chatter too.

After dinner, he took her on a tour of the shop and, as promised, began teaching her all about cars. She found herself catching on quickly, though the hardware still didn't interest her half as much as the software behind it. Nuts and bolts can't be smart, but there were Harvard graduates dumber than J.A.R.V.I.S.

Daisy dreaded Monday, but like everything you dread, it only comes faster. She was used to starting at a new school- Daisy had been shuffled about enough- but this time it was different. You didn't even need to put in the last name to get a dozen articles about her on Google. Everyone would know who she was, and that would be a first. Plus there was the issue with her grades and classes. If she couldn't get the guidance councilor to help her… she really didn't want to ruin this good thing they were beginning to have by telling Tony she was failing Mandarin.

Happy drove her to school, and Daisy convinced him to let her sit shotgun. The less it looked like a limo the less people would stare. Every minute she could remain under the radar would be a blessing. Even in Malibu, no one else was as rich as Daisy.

"Thank you," she called to the man slipping on her hoodie and sliding out of the car. "I know you're getting paid for this, but you're still a saint."

It was only in movies and books that schools actually supplied new students with maps, so she just attempted to keep her head low and find the guidance office. Usually it was near the main offices, and those were usually in the center. Trusting her experience to guide her, Daisy set off through the winding halls. Students littered the hallways, chatting about their weekend. Daisy could have sworn that she heard her own name come up once or twice, but she brushed it off as paranoia. Teenagers certainly didn't like to gossip, did they?

The first bell had rung by the time Daisy found the office, but she was just grateful that she did find it. The guidance suite looked like all the others Daisy had seen. Two offices, a couple of too-comfortable seats outside them, and a table with a jar of candy in it. Nothing about it was special, and yet it felt far warmer than any of the others. Perhaps the smiling woman standing outside had something to do with that.

"You must be Daisy," she greeted shaking the girl's hand. "Come in, let's talk." Daisy followed her into the smaller of the two offices, and pretended to get comfortable in the seat. "So, you've had an interesting two weeks, haven't you?"

The scary thing was that it hadn't even been two whole weeks. Two whole weeks ago Daisy wouldn't have been able to imagine what she was in for. "Interesting is a good word, yeah."

The guidance officer, whose nameplate identified as Melissa Martin, nodded at that. "Well, let's take a look at your transcript." Daisy groaned. "I see you were taking CP Algebra I, CP English 9, CP Mandarin, CP World History, CP Biology, and a study at your old school, is that correct?" Daisy nodded. "Well I can enroll you in all those classes here and…"

"Ms Martin," Daisy interrupted both terrified but knowing that she had to get the words out. "Please, is there any way I could maybe be in different classes and not have my grades carry over? I know it's an odd request but I just really, really want a new start and I know I wasn't doing well in any of those classes so why would you allow me to take more difficult ones but I'm finally settling in one place and I just want the chance to do better. I'm not stupid I promise I just haven't…"

"Daisy," she interrupted before the teen could burst into tears. (Because Daisy was that stressed out about all of this.) "I don't think you're stupid. I don't think it would be possible for you to be stupid with a father like yours. I think you have had a very tough life. I think you've had very irregular schooling. I think you always knew that there was no way you could afford college and therefore thought there was no need to try to get into college. I think if you put your mind to it, you could be our top student."

Daisy nodded furiously in agreement. "Please. I just need a chance. Things are really different now for me… Don't make Daisy Stark be torn down by the actions of Mary Sue Poots."

" Like I said, I do not think you are dumb. You are most certainly a genius Daisy, and why your grades are as they are I do not really know, but I knew determination when I see it. Therefore I will grant your request, but I have conditions. There is less than half a quarter left in the semester. I'll arrange it so your grade for this semester is the grade you receive on your final. If you do not get at least a B+ on any exam, you will be automatically transferred into CP classes with the grades you had when walking into this office." Wow, talk about high stakes. "Honestly Daisy, I think you can do it, but don't have a history of working hard in school. If you don't want that challenge, I can put you in the CP classes with your current grades and you can bring them up to a C by the end of the semester. It's up to you."

Daisy dug her nails into her hand. She could either risk receiving a D in every class to gain the possibility of not disappointing her father, or she could achieve mediocrity and not risk anything.

"Sign me up for the hard classes, please."

Ms. Martin nodded, but made no move towards the computer. "You should know that there is one other condition." Oh great, as if the stakes weren't high enough already for Daisy. "You have to set up a weekly meeting time with me to talk."

"What?"

Ms. Martin nodded, "I know it might seem like everything is good right now, but your life has changed radically. The things you've gone through up until this point are enough to put you in therapy. You're putting even more pressure on yourself with these harder classes, and I want to know if you're about to explode. I'll let you take whatever classes you wish and give you a clean slate, but only if you agree to meet with me every week so I know for sure you're talking to someone."

Daisy thought it was a bit of a ridiculous requirement. She had met shrinks before and a school guidance councilor didn't even get there. Still, it was a small price to pay. "Yes, I agree, thank you."

"Let's see, Ap Human Geography, Honors English,9, Honors Algebra II, Ap Biology, Honors Mandarin II, and you have two elective blocks.

The sane thing to do would be to take a study, but Daisy needed to be better. Maybe she could graduate early; that would impress her dad some.

"I can I take Honors Algebra Ii and AP Computer Science?"

Ms. Martin looked as if she was debating going back on their deal and stopping Daisy from taking such a killer schedule. Still, she only nodded and plugged it into the computer. "If by the end of the week you want to lighten your load I'll give you a clean slate in your CP classes."

"Thanks, but I won't need it." Daisy vowed. Picking her schedule off the printer, she headed for the door.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

She had Mandarin first and was thoroughly confused because, in all honesty, Daisy had never once studied her vocab. The one good thing was the strict "no speaking in English" rule that kept everyone from talking about her

By the start of Algebra II, however, there was plenty of talk. Teachers in real life don't make you introduce yourself (Daisy had been to enough schools to know that.) But this time it didn't matter. Everyone knew who she was; she'd been on the cover of the newspaper all weekend. (Honestly, people were dying all around the city and they only wanted to know if she was a genius inventor like her father? It was ridiculous.)

"Miss Stark, will you come to the board and simplify this complex equation for us?"

Daisy looked up from the graffiti on her desk at the problem. It was far beyond anything she knew how to do and she suspected that "i" wasn't a normal variable. Imaginary number perhaps? How did you do a problem with an imaginary number? If it wasn't real why was it there before her?

"I'm sorry Mr. Tanner," she muttered face blushing red. "But my school hadn't gotten to imaginary numbers yet."

"Why don't you come to extra help after school and we can catch you up," the balding teacher replied before calling on some other student to solve the problem. Daisy felt ready to cry, especially when the word in the hallway was exactly what she expected it to be- Daisy Stark is stupid.

At least English went better because Daisy had read To Kill a Mockingbird. By lunch though Daisy had decided this whole school idea was a terrible one and was wondering if she could convince J.A.R.V.I.S to home school her. He certainly knew more than any of her teachers.

"Hey, it's Daisy right?"

She turned from her locker to see a member of the pom squad standing there behind her. Daisy was shocked by this. She'd been a new student many times before, and usually lunch time was when she hid in the library. And never, at any school, had she been approached by a cheerleader, especially not a cheerleader who knew her name.

So of course Daisy was immediately suspicious. "Yeah, who are you?"

"I'm Brittany Gold." Her teeth were far too white for it to be natural, and her skin would probably be filled with cancer by age 19 from how tan it was. In short, she looked exactly how a Malibu girl was supposed to. (She was even wearing Hollister "Malibu Beach" perfume, which Daisy just found hilarious.) "Um, so I was like, well we..." for the first time Daisy noticed the rest of her friends standing on the other side of the hall in a clump. "We were hoping you'd like to come sit with us at lunch."

Daisy had never even asked herself if she wanted to be a popular kid because before it had never been an option. But now, well everything was different now wasn't it? "Sure," she answered before she could even decide. "But you're going to have to show me where the cafeteria is."

She was already regretting going along with them by the time Daisy got her lunch and sat down. The girls were set on introducing her to every single boy in the school, and telling her exactly what their football number was. Within minutes her mind was swirling and one thing was clear-these girls were stuck in middle school. They were still wondering about what would make them cool. They were still only friends until someone turned their back. They were still those 'basic bitches' Daisy had known in New York. It was their prerogative if they wanted to be like that, but Daisy was miserable. When you've been through what she had, you can't go back to being as shallow as a spoon.

"So, is it weird if I say your dad is like totally hot?"

Daisy stared down Brittany. "Um, yeah." What was even an appropriate response to that? Daisy would be lying if she said she hadn't had the same thought before she knew, but it was definitely weird to think of now that she knew. "Isn't he a bit old for you?"

"Well duh," Brittany laughed messing with her hair on purpose in that annoying way that they do. "But if you had a secret brother or something I would totally tap that… You don't have a brother, right?"

Two weeks ago Daisy didn't have a father, so really she didn't know. "I don't think so, but if I do you have my permission to date him."

Brittany 'squeed' (literally) before one of the other girls, Amber, leaned close to Daisy. "So, do you think it's likely that you have a brother? Because I would so totally love it if you did."

Likely, no, was it possible, sure. Did Daisy want to think of that? Hell no. "I don't know, but I don't think so."

"What's your dad like?"

"Does he really have a new girl every night?"

"Do you know any famous people?"

"Can you introduce us to them?"

Daisy's head spun as they bombarded her. Suddenly Daisy knew for sure why she'd been invited to sit at the cool table, and she was having none of it.

"I need to go to the bathroom," she announced her chair sliding across the floor a bit too far. People from all around stared more obviously than they had been before, and Daisy lowered her head on the way out. Well, that had been a terrible disaster.

"I'm sorry about Brittany." Daisy wanted to cry as she head a new voice greeting her outside the cafeteria. "You'll probably get used to people only caring about you because of your dad soon enough. I did."

That peaked Daisy's attention. "Who's your dad?"

"Ryan Bradley," he replied and Daisy's mouth literally dropped. Okay, so her dad was a billionaire CEO, but this, this was Ryan Bradley's son!

"You're Brian Bradley," the kid, Brian, nodded softly. "I'm sorry, but your dad's fantastic! And you! When he had you on singing last May I thought it was going to be total favoritism, but you're incredible! I illegally downloaded your song onto every device I own." Only after she spoke did Daisy realize how odd that probably sounded. "Sorry, that isn't something I should be telling you, is it? Honestly though, your dad's show is the only Late Night show I'll ever watch."

Brian's smile hurt Daisy. He seemed so sad. "Yeah, well, he graces every home every night, except his own." Oh. That sucked. "Hey, don't look like a kicked puppy, I'm used to it. You didn't even know you had a dad until what, a week ago? I'm better off than you that's for sure."

"Ah, but I'm richer." Daisy wasn't sure where the words came from, but they made Brian laugh. "And more stupid apparently."

"You can't be all that dumb." For a second Daisy thought she was going to hear the 'you can't be dumb because of your dad' argument again, but what Brian came up with was far better. "You didn't use the word stupider."

Daisy was now the one laughing, and she followed the dark-haired boy back into the cafeteria feeling far better about her life. Daisy Stark could be anyone she wanted to be, but the only one she wanted to be was herself. Perhaps Brian could help her figure out who that would be, and if he couldn't, well he had at least promised to show her where she could get good FroYo.


	8. Chapter 8

And it's after Thanksgiving so no one can complain about my frantic love of Christmas. Also, don't read this if you're under like 13. Just don't.

* * *

Chapter 8

Christmas break came but they were in no shape or form a vacation. While actually studying allowed Daisy to make leaps and bounds in her classes, she was still radically behind. The only class she felt like she understood was Computer Science, which she was especially skilled at. (Things do tend to run in families apparently.)

Daisy was also busy with a tedious drivers ed class. One the bright side she got her permit 6 months earlier than in New York allowed and she wasn't worried about having a car to drive considering Tony had like 10.

But on Christmas Eve Daisy decided life could take a break because an ABC Harry Potter marathon was calling. She'd just finished heating her popcorn when Daisy heard a very annoyed voice flooding the house.

"One month! I go radio silent for one month and you get yourself a kid! You don't even like kids Tony Stark. What are you doing with…"

Daisy was biting her lips so not to laugh at the horrified look on the man's face. "You must be Rhodey," she greeted.

"Oh good, you've met," Tony grinned bounding up the stairs. "What were you saying James?"

The man looked infuriated in the way only a best friend can get. "I was saying I can never leave again, or you'll end up with a baby. At least Daisy can walk to the Police station when you set the lab on fire."

Daisy laughed at that and Tony stared with horror. "Oh this is a disaster, isn't it? You two are going to band together against me."

Daisy and Rhodey hadn't even had a single conversation yet, but they grinned at each other and replied in unison. "Yup."

"Whatever," Tony shrugged probably regretting his life. "Welcome back to the states Rhodey, you survived, congratulations, Ji-Ying and I had a daughter, that would be her, anything else?"

"I have a question," Rhodey pondered looking around the house. "Where is your Christmas tree?"

"What?"

"Where is your Christmas tree?"

Tony looked flustered. "I never have a Christmas tree, you know that."

"You never used to have a Christmas tree, and you never used to have a daughter," Rhodey replied pulling out his phone and sending a text to Pepper. "We're getting you a Christmas tree, and the four of us are going to decorate it."

Things happened quickly after that. Both Tony and Daisy objected that they didn't need a Christmas tree. Neither were really the family holiday kind of person, but Rhodey insisted. And when Pepper showed up they didn't even bother to fight. The Bing Crosby was turned up, the giant tree brought in, and somehow Pepper even managed to find decorations.

"What are you looking at?" Daisy asked noticing Tony staring heavily into a box. "Are they broken?"

Tony shook his head, and pulled out a little toy car ornament. "My mom used to have me buy one new ornament a year, something with a memory of sorts. I got this the year I built my first car."

"And then proceeded to drive that car across town despite being 12," Rhodey reminded with a pointed look. "Please tell me you have a shorter criminal record than your father, Daisy."

She actually didn't have a criminal record, just a long list of minor offenses (mouthing off) at school. "Can I look at these?" she asked Tony, and he handed over the box. She took them carefully, not wanting to break the ornaments that really mattered. There were 17 total, and Daisy was reminded of the sad fact that her grandparents died right before Christmas. Now that she thought about it, that explained Tony's mood a few days before-it had been the anniversary of his parents death, and she hadn't even remembered to say anything. What a great daughter she was.

The first one was just a little shoe with the words "Baby's first Christmas." The second one was a book; of course Tony could read at 2. The third one was a train, had he had a train phase? Daisy looked through them all and smiled. Each one showed Tony's exceptional development, but even more than that it showed what mattered to him. She, for the first time, wished she knew her Grandmother. "They're nice," she told him placing them carefully on the tree. "Classic."

Tony nodded, lost in thought, before shaking his head. He was so good at pretending he didn't remember, that he didn't care. She was the orphan who'd been through the system, and him the billionaire genius, but really who was more damaged?

The clock chimed 11 right as Daisy placed the angel on the top of the tree. "Shouldn't you go to bed, Santa will be coming soon."

"I'm 15," Daisy reminded him with a pointed look. "I know Santa is not real."

Tony nodded, probably feeling foolish. "Right, sorry, I couldn't remember when that one happened…"

"When I was like six the older kids told me," Daisy rolled her eyes thinking of how upset she'd been. Now that she was the older kid she loved helping the little ones believe. The idea of some benevolent man buying orphans toys was something every little kid needed to latch on to. "Um, so, random question…" She felt awkward asking, but now that Daisy had the idea she couldn't just forget it. "So, um, that credit card you gave me. I'm allowed to use it right? Like not to buy a car or something ridiculous of course, but if I wanted to buy someone a Christmas present…"

Tony cut her off, "Yes you can buy your boyfriend a Christmas present."

Daisy blushed, and looked down. "Brain's not my boyfriend, and even if he was it's not him. I was just thinking that there's an orphanage about a mile from school, and I know orphanages always try to get donations but no one ever really remembers stuff for the older kids. I was just thinking I could go pick a couple things up in the morning… it's not like stores are even closed on Christmas anymore."

Rhodey had gone home an hour or so ago, but if he'd been around he'd probably have commented that the paternity test had to be wrong because no way could someone related to Tony be so nice.

"Go to bed," Tony ordered sounding almost like a real dad. "I'll come with you tomorrow and we can pick some stuff up together. You're not allowed to spend Christmas alone."

"I always have." Daisy realized only after she spoke how bad that sounded, but before she could say anything Tony had already begun to reply.

"Never again," he promised and Daisy realized he'd spent about as many Christmases alone as she had. Ever since his parents died he'd had no family either. Or well, he had Daisy, but neither of them knew that. Both couldn't help but wonder what things would have been like had they known. Who would they be?

It was impossible to know, and both Starks tried to keep their minds from wandering down that path. It was a dangerously dark one, especially for them. "I said go to bed Daisy," Tony urged noticing the girl standing silently watching her father take all his memory ornaments off the tree and wrapping them carefully. "Or do you want to get coal for not listening to your father?"

Daisy would like to see him try to give her coal for bad behavior. He was, after all, the one with the illegitimate daughter. The illegitimate daughter who for once understood what it meant to be home for Christmas.

It was in the 60's, but Daisy put on slippers to go to the living room the next morning. She was used to actual white Christmases and felt like this was total crap. Still, living in Malibu was awesome 99% of the time, so she could deal. And she would deal, by putting on slippers and pretending it was cold.

Like every day since she'd known him, Tony was awake by the time Daisy came downstairs. It wasn't even like she'd slept in late- no one sleeps in on Christmas. Yet Tony was up and had waffles made already. Daisy was honestly starting to wonder if he ever slept.

"Merry Christmas," he greeted and Daisy noticed there were a ton a presents underneath the tree. Were those for her? She'd gotten a used I-pod last Christmas and no money to buy songs. And this year it seemed she had more presents than Dudley Dursley. "Eat, and then you can open presents."

Daisy found herself laughing. "Don't you sound like true paternal authority. You're almost a real dad."

"I am a real dad," he countered with a soft smile. "I'm real. I'm a dad. There, I win."

Yes, he did, and his waffles were spectacular. J.A.R.V.I.S having the ability to know every recipe on the internet could be so helpful. "Merry Christmas Tony, and you too J.A.R.V.I.S."

"Merry Christmas Daisy," the AI chimed back.

"Oh no," Tony declared tossing more whipped cream on his waffle. "You do not say 'merry Christmas' to a computer."

Daisy gave him a hard look, one she was learning from watching Pepper all the time. "Say merry Christmas to J.A.R.V.I.S. He's practically sentient, and as close as I have to a brother. Which makes him your son… Say merry Christmas to your son."

Tony grumbled about not needing any more children, but he did wish the AI merry Christmas. Pleased, Daisy turned on the radio and ate to "Sleigh Ride". Once done, she quickly washed the dishes, and headed into the living where Tony was holding the present Daisy bought him like a child. "You can open it," Daisy allowed with a smile. She could not seem to get a grip on Tony. Sometimes she thought that she knew who he was beneath all the layers of camera-readiness, but then other times she suspected she'd never know him at all.

Tony ripped open the packaging and pouted at the mug inside. ""Not the World's Best Dad but my only option.' Pepper helped you pick this out, didn't she?"

Why yes she did. "Shut up, you like it. My turn."

Daisy got everything a teenage girl wanted for Christmas: a laptop, new clothes, fancy shoes, makeup, and even the brand new Stark Phone. (That one must have been very difficult to find.) Still, she didn't so much care about the gifts as the fact that her dad bought them. Okay, she knew Pepper probably bought them, but that was basically the same thing as a mom buying gifts with dad's paycheck. Whatever the case these were gifts her Father bought for her. Last Christmas Daisy had no father what so all, and now she had Tony. Sure, it wasn't the white-picket fence she'd been hoping for, but it was the greatest gift she could imagine.

"Thank you," Daisy said meaning it more than anyone before. "Thank you, and not just for the gifts, for everything. I know Christmas is not really your thing, we wouldn't have had the tree if not for Rhodey, but you've tried. With Christmas. With me… Thank you."

Tony didn't say anything, but his muscles weren't taut, that was the only reply Daisy needed. "Yeah, come on, I took the liberty to pick up some cool gifts for your orphans."

No one could deny that Tony knew how to be a good person. Daisy quickly discovered that his cool gifts consisted of every non-weapon Stark Industry made. When Daisy knocked on the door the red velvet back was brimming with laptops, phones, tablets, and everything anyone could want. Daisy hadn't even realized that the company made toys, but Tony had the most realistic dolls and yes, toy guns, for the younger kids. Santa didn't have to be real for these kids because Tony and Daisy Stark were.

Tony wanted to leave after only a minute, so Daisy sent him out to the car. She couldn't bring herself just to leave though and found herself talking to the kids. She knew exactly what it was like to be them, and she gave them home. If there was a family waiting out there for Daisy there could just as well be a family waiting out there for the dozen of kid's at St. Jose's Children's Home.

Finally though Daisy left feeling a lot better about life. Maybe those kids wouldn't hate walking into school so much the next week. They wouldn't have to dread the questions of 'what did you get' because they got spectacular stuff. Daisy couldn't give them a home, but she could do the best she could to be the person she'd needed only a few weeks ago. What more could she expect of herself than that?


	9. Chapter 9

Hey guys can I ask you a favor? Please go and check out my Marvel secret Santa thing. It's a lot of fun.

* * *

Chapter 9

Things of course went downhill after that. Daisy should have expected it. Her life had been too good since she came to Malibu. Sure, there were issues with being Tony Stark's daughter, but it had also been really freaking good. She had a father and that was really all that mattered to Daisy. They weren't normal, and they would never be, but they were. It was too good to be true.

And Brian. Things with Brian had been too good as well. She'd said on Christmas Eve that they weren't a couple, and it was true, unfortunately. But he was so perfect. He knew what it was like to have a famous and rich father. He understood how it felt to always be compared, to always be known. Daisy felt as if he was the only one at school who wanted to know Daisy, and not Daisy Stark. And so she was stupid in that way 15-year-old-girls are around the boys they like. She told him everything. She told him about not knowing whether or not to call Tony dad. She told him how Pepper was basically her mom, and Daisy wished the woman knew that. Brian listen to her talk about trying to catch up in school, make her dad proud, and generally survive. Ms. Martin wanted to make sure Daisy had someone to talk to, but Daisy hadn't needed the councilor. She had Brian.

And the day after Christmas, that blew up in her face. She was watching the Late Night Show with Ryan Bradley while taking Bio notes when she heard her name. "Daisy Stark, we've all been thinking about Daisy Stark for weeks, but who is she?" Okay, that was creepy. Sure, Daisy had seen herself on magazines in the grocery store, but this was a whole new level of weird. Here was the dad of the guy she liked talking about her on TV. Here was a guy she'd met for five minutes a week ago talking about her to a national audience. "And I'll let you know exactly who she is. Tony Stark's less-than-stellar daughter is who she is." Daisy's heart gripped. "The girl's a complete basket case. They tried to place her in 13 homes over the years and she got kicked out of all of them. She's not smart and had to bribe the guidance councilor to let her take the high level classes she's now failing." That wasn't even true! "Her mom died poor in a Chinese village rather than reaching out to Tony Stark for help, so what does that say about their relationship? Daisy Stark is a tramp born from a wh*re and a slutty woman. Folks, stop talking about her, because that's all you really need to know."

Daisy finally managed to find the 'off' button through her tears. It wasn't the words that hurt. She knew what she was, and had been called far worse. No, what broke her heart was how he knew this.

"I'm so fucking stupid," Daisy whispered to Pepper who, in traditional fashion, heard before Tony even did. "I should have fucking known Brian was just using me. Everyone is always just using me! I don't matter to anyone! I'm so fucking stupid."

Tony slammed his fist against the wall, denting it. "You're not the stupid one Daisy," he growled walking towards the door. "That asshole who thought it was a good idea to tell the world about you is the idiot."

Daisy was too busy crawling into her bed to sob to notice. She'd never felt more stupid and worthless in her life. No one really wanted her around. Even Tony didn't want her, he just didn't have a choice but to take in his daughter. It would have been better if she'd died with her mom.

"Daisy?" Tony stood in the doorway looking at his mess of a daughter warily. The man had absolutely no idea what to do, and yet he didn't need Pepper's lecture to know he had to do something. He was her father, and there was no one but he who could help to ease her pain. "You know him saying something doesn't make it true."

Truth was a matter of perception, and at the moment the whole nation perceived her as a complete tramp. "It is true though," she whispered her voice cracking. "No one has ever wanted me. He wasn't wrong about the homes. I stayed at one for a week before they sent me back to the orphanage. Everyone would be a lot happier if I had never been born."

"I want you," Tony vowed looking the girl straight in the eye. " Hell, I could have easily made it so that paternity test result disappeared and that any other attempts after it did the same. I wanted you Daisy then, and now. I like living with you. You don't eat too much. You don't mind when I don't talk to you for days on end. You turn the lights off after I leave a room… Your all I could want in a daughter."

Daisy slurped a laugh. "Those aren't very high standards."

Tony crawled onto the bed next to her, and Daisy laid her head on his shoulder. As he played with her hair, Tony replied, "I always have high standards, and you've surpassed every one. And even if you hadn't I'd still like you, no, I'd love you because you are my daughter. I can't explain it to you Daisy but the moment Pepper told me I loved you. I don't know how to be a Father because I never had one, but I know how to love like one. I love you, I want you, and I'm going to make that kid and his dad pay for what they said because your mascara just ruined my shirt."

Daisy was laughing. Everything hurt and she wanted to cry for weeks, but she was laughing. Perhaps Tony wasn't so horrible at this father thing at all.

And he kept his word. She was lying on the couch watching TV the next day when her phone started buzzing. She'd rigged it alert her to changes in Stark Stocks, and they'd just jumped. One flip over to the CNBC and she knew exactly why. **Stark Industries buys HT Television Network for 3 billion dollars after Ryan Bradley Slander.**

"Hello?"

"Did you just buy out a whole television network to cancel the Late Night show?"

Daisy couldn't see him, but she heard her father smiling on the other end. "Let's just say I didn't like their content."

"That's all your going to do though, right? I'm not going to have to bail you out of prison for assault?"

Daisy heard Rhodey over on the other side of the line. "Oh don't worry, I've been with him all day to make sure there is none of that."

"Thanks Rhods," he was a good friend, and the type Tony needed. "And thanks Tony."

"It's nothing." Yes because 3 billion dollar deals were made every day. "Oh, and Stark Industries owns it, but I put the shares under your name. Even if I was to disown you I couldn't take that money away."

"Are you planning on disowning me Mr. I-want-you?"

"No, but you might start forgetting to turn the lights off, and then I'd just have to."

Daisy hung up the phone laughing. There were dozens of texts from Brian begging for forgiveness, but she just blocked his number. When she went back to school she could deal with that but for now, for now she was going to watch Doctor Who.


	10. Chapter 10

Just an FYI I decided not to slip up the story as much on here as I am on AO3. So yeah this will be the last chapter there but not here because I'm just posting it as one story since there isn't the same connection between series on here.

* * *

Chapter 10

Pepper and Rhodey both tried to convince Tony that having his annual New Year Party with Daisy there was a bad idea, but he insisted. Daisy agreed that it was high-time she met Tony's friends. Plus she as halfway through her Freshman year, she'd been to a party before. Sure, not a Tony Stark party, but how bad could it be?

People started streaming in around 9, and Daisy was introduced to everyone. The weirdest bit was that none of them but Rhodey had been around long enough to know her mother. Really Daisy realized that they didn't even know her father. She wasn't getting the chance to meet his friends because she already has. Pepper, Rhodey, even Happy-they were Tony's only friends.

Tony's little stunt with the Late Night show must have put the fear of God into everyone, because no one dared offer her a drink. By Midnight everyone was too drunk to even remember Daisy was there. That was in one sense a blessing because she was so sick of the small talk. On the other hand she'd never felt so alone in a room with a hundred people. Tony's eyes said he felt the same way, despite what his drunken mouth was jabbering about.

"Fun party, right," Pepper laughed sitting on the couch next to Daisy. "If you like people watching."

Daisy watched the 'acapella karaoke' contest happening before them. "It's amusing at least." Or the strangers making fools of themselves were. Daisy had never seen her father drunk in person, only in the tabloids, and they didn't exaggerate. He was the life of the party, and a terrible embarrassment. "This is what he's usually like, isn't it? The guy I've seen… that's just him putting on a show of doing what he's supposed to."

"No," Pepper promised holding the girl's hands in her own. "No, Daisy, I thought that would be the case but it's not. When I see him with you that's the only time I see the real Tony Stark. This, this 'billionaire playboy', that's the act."

It certainly didn't seem like it, but Daisy was grateful for Pepper trying. "I think I'm going to go to bed." Not that she'd be able to fall asleep over the blaring noise. "Make sure he doesn't fall out a window or something."

"I always do," Pepper promised as Daisy walked off. Once the girl was out of sight, Pepper clenched her fists. Tony was so freaking stupid, and Daisy deserved better.

Somehow Daisy fell asleep and when she woke up the house was silent. Her head ached from sleep deprivation, but she suspected their guests were probably feeling a lot worse this morning. Sighing, Daisy crawled out of bed and went to start cleaning up-the house was probably a mess.

It actually wasn't. Tony must have had someone here cleaning up before she even woke up. Light filtered in from the garage, and she wondered how he could possibly be working after last night.

There were rumors he invented his best stuff while drunk or hung over. Daisy realized that he probably just invented everything while drunk or hug over.

"Tony? Is that you?"

Daisy turned to see a minor starlet standing in the hallway with one of Tony's shirts on. One of her dad's shirts and nothing else.

"I'm going back to bed." Daisy sighed pushing past the girl. She knew. She knew what her dad was. She knew he was a self declared playboy. She should have known it was just a matter of time. Everything Ryan Bradley said about her had been based in truth; why would it be any different with Tony?

She had to go to school the next day, and so Daisy just plugged in her headphones and tried to burn the images from her head. God it was disgusting to think of her dad like that. Even worse it was embarrassing. He was 37 years old and that girl probably was in her 20s. It was just wrong,

"And do you want to know what makes it worse?" The lull between songs just allowed the screaming to break through. Curious as to what Rhodey was even doing there, she pulled out one ear. "Do you know what makes it worse? Pepper said Daisy saw her. Now she won't yell at you because you're her boss, but guess what, you're not mine! Of all the irresponsible things! Because of girls like this one you're a father now. You can't just keep every pretty thing that crosses your path. That girl was 22 Tony! That's Daisy in less than seven years! How would you react if someone used Daisy the way you do these girls? It cannot continue Tony. You wanted Daisy, you got her, and now it's high time you stop acting like a frat boy and act like a father."

"You done?" Tony sounded frustrated.

"Yes , I'm done."

Feeling sorta bad for intruding, Daisy plopped her other headphone in with a sigh. She was lucky it had taken this long for Ton to fall off the 'good father" wagon. This was what he did and she would just have to get used to it.

Rhodey must have left, because it was Tony who cracked open her door. "Can we talk?"

"It's your house," Daisy replied waving him in. She didn't look up from her laptop though as he went to sit on the side of her bed.

"Would you like to yell at me too?"

That got Daisy to stop typing, but only for a second. She was already back at it by the time she spoke. "Why should I? You're an adult. It's your house and it's not my place to criticize."

"But you disapprove?"

"Yes."

Tony nodded "It's immature. I had little respect for my father because of his behavior before I was born. I would probably have walked out had I experienced it firsthand. I promise no more girls."

Tony was trying to be a better father than what he had. He was really trying, and Daisy respected him for that.

"You're welcome to get a real girlfriend if you want. I'm sure Pepper would say yes."

Tony turned to her blinking in confusion." What are you talking about?"

"Nothing," Daisy chuckled; Tony was so clueless. "Now can you leave? I'm busy hacking the Pentagon."

Tony peered over at her screen, a smile on his face. "You're not getting in that way."

Daisy had forgotten that he'd done it himself around her age. They really weren't that different after all, Daisy Stark and her Father.


	11. Chapter 11

And to think, the last one ended so happily. Enjoy your pain you lovely people.

* * *

May 2008

Chapter 11

January was fantastic. Tony's New Year resolution of being a good father was fresh in his mind and he really tried. There were no parties, no long business trips, and no girls. He and Daisy actually sat down and had dinner together almost every night, it was almost weird it was so normal.

And Daisy managed all A's in her classes. Tony even showed her a few tricks after walking in on her studying for Computer Science, and the girl was quickly surpassing even his ability with software. The biggest drama of the whole month was when Daisy accidentally shut down J.A.R.V.I.S as she worked to give him better filters for Youtube.

All and all, January was fantastic, but life never stays perfect. Tony was getting bored with the every-day life, and his work was suffering. Things started falling apart slowly. Daisy didn't even notice him spending more time in the basement and less with her. She didn't even realize he was reverting throughout February. By the time she realized that Tony was back to being his old immature self it was St. Patrick's day and there was another party at their house.

By the beginning of May, the two Starks were living separate lives slowly resenting the other. Daisy had expected too much when she wanted Tony to be a father. Just her presence wasn't enough to change him, and that fact hurt Daisy more than his behavior.

The one good thing was that he'd kept his word when it came to girls. Oh, there were certainly many nights he spent somewhere else, but there was never anyone in her kitchen when Daisy went down to breakfast in the morning, not even her father.

Still, she settled into it well enough. This was what life with a father was like she realized. It wasn't good, it was just life. The opportunities he presented her were enough for her even if she didn't have his love and attention. Money could buy happiness, Daisy just needed to figure out how exactly. But she was trying, and she was content, or she could at least convince herself that she was.

"Daisy Stark!" Tony had come up with a million reasons why Daisy couldn't come to the Apogee awards. It was a school night. Las Vegas was far. It's in a casino. Daisy had just chocked it down to him wanting to get wasted and not have Daisy around to see it. Now, as Obadiah Stane greeted her, she wondered if this was the real reason. She'd been Tony's daughter for half a year and yet she'd never met her father's right hand man. It hadn't taken her long to realize Tony was deliberately keeping them apart, not wanting Daisy to be sucked into the business. When he caved and let her come tonight he was really saying he didn't care at all, wasn't he? There were two lines he'd kept, and now, one was broken . All he needed to do was bring home a girl and Daisy would know exactly where they stood.

"Mr. Stane," she greeted with the smile she'd perfected long before she was a Stark. "It's so nice to finally meet you. Tony usually only introduces me to his friends who enjoy drunkenly sleeping on my floor."

Obadiah laughed at that, and yet they both knew it was true. Tony Stark was a complete mess of sarcasm and irresponsibility, and it was starting to rub Daisy the wrong way. (And starting was a massive understatement.)

Luckily, both were saved from any more awkward conversation by the beginning of the ceremony. Daisy looked around sure that Tony had been right behind her. Where had he even gone? If he didn't show up soon he'd miss the presentation. _Oh wait, that's probably his intention_ Daisy realized with horror. Tony loved being awarded, being praised, but he loved it even more when he could make such a prestigious award seem insignificant to his high life.

There was a short introduction used to praise Tony, and then Rhodey stood up on the stage. Daisy wanted to cry at her father's irresponsibility, but held a smile on her face as Rhodey began to speak. "As liaison to Stark Industries, I've had the unique privilege of serving with a real patriot. He is my friend and he is my great mentor. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to present this year's Apogee Award to Mr. Tony Stark." Who was conveniently missing. "Tony?"

He looked over to where Daisy and Obadiah sat, and they just shook their heads. Obadiah went to stand, but Daisy eyed him and got up herself. She could cover for him for the sake of the company, and later he could get an earful when she threw the award at his head.

"Thank you Colonel Rhodes," Daisy smiled accepting the award. Gripping it tightly she turned to the crowd. "Well, in case you're wondering, I'm not Tony." Everyone laughed at that, and Daisy used their amusement to keep up her smile. "I am however honored to accept this award on my father's behalf. My father, well, he doesn't win awards like this because he sits around going to wonderful award ceremonies. No, he's always so very busy, and that is why he can't be here tonight. Truly though, this award is an honor, and I'm sure it will go right up in our house where it can proudly be displayed as a symbol of his dedication to this world, and this world's gratefulness to him."

Daisy quickly got off the stage, keeping a bright smile. She would not scream. She would not cry. She'd look like this was the plan all along and she wasn't about to go track down Tony and kill him.

"I'll call Happy to come and take you home," Rhodey suggested once everyone dispersed. "And I'll go find Tony to give this to him."

Daisy shook her head. "No way, I'm coming with you and hitting him over the head with this."

"You're too young to even be allowed on the casino floor," Rhodey reminded her with a look. She wasn't even 16; she shouldn't have come in the first place. "I'll make sure to yell at him for the both of us." The look that crossed Daisy's face was a terrifying one, and Rhodey sighed. "Fine, you can come, but only because you're as stubborn as he is."

"I am nothing like him," Daisy hissed not wanting to think of the many ways in which she was. They really weren't all that different, except Daisy wasn't a spoiled child, and he still was. "Come on, let's look for the largest crowd of girls possible; I bet he's right in the middle."

They found Tony surrounded by girls over at the craps table. They hung on him like he was a god of old, and it made Daisy's stomach sink. He was such a child. He was such an irresponsible child. "Oh, they roped you into this too," Tony laughed seeing Rhodey standing behind him. "Oh, and you too," he muttered looking at Daisy. "You should be in" he cut off with a hiccup. "You should be in bed Da, Da…"

"Daisy, my freaking name is Daisy." Wow that was a new low for him to forget her name, even while drunk. "And here's your freaking award Mr. Stark."

She slammed it into his chest and stormed off, wondering why she'd ever thought Tony Stark could be a real father.

Daisy got home in the early hours of the morning and had a good long cry. Tony was always selfish. Ever since he first got past the newsness of being a father and went back to his life he'd been selfish. But forgetting who she was? Forgetting his own daughter? That hurt. It just showed how little he cared. How happier he'd be if she wasn't around. Her life here was a terrible mistake, just like her life before had been. She was just a terrible mistake. "I suck," she whispered to her pillow. "That's why no one wants me, because I suck."

"You do not suck Daisy," Of course J.A.R.V.I.S would comfort her. Of course her father's invention would have more emotions than he did. Maybe they were artificial emotions, but at least they weren't nonexistent as in Tony's case.

She didn't know what time she fell asleep, but when her alarm woke her for school, Daisy dragged herself out of bed and dressed. Hopefully Tony was too hung over to even be awake and she wouldn't have to face him. She did not want to mess up her makeup by crying again. She could yell at him next week when he got back from Afghanistan. Maybe in the week she'd calm down enough not to want to kill him.

"Tony? Tony?"

Daisy stopped dead in her tracks. No. He hadn't. He hadn't really crossed that line, right?

"Tony is that you?"

A beautiful woman stood in the doorway, dressed in the white shirt Tony had been wearing the night before. That white shirt and nothing else. He had. He had actually crossed that final line, broken that final promise, and brought a girl home.

"Oh, hi, you're Daisy right?"

She didn't even reply, just scanned herself into the basement and stormed towards her asshole of a father.

"DO YOU EVEN KNOW THE DEFINITION OF RESPECT?" Daisy yelled storming towards where he worked on one of the cars he loved more than her. "DO YOU EVEN REMEMBER PROMISING NOT TO BRING HOME ANY MORE GIRLS?"

Tony didn't look up from under the hood as he spoke, "You should be at school."

"AND YOU SHOULD BE ON A PLANE TO AFGHANISTAN BUT YOU'RE NOT BECAUSE YOU'RE DOWN HERE WHILE YOUR SLUT OF A GIRLFRIEND IS UPSTAIRS. NO, SHE'S NOT EVEN YOUR GIRLFRIEND, THAT IMPLIES THAT YOU ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT HER. WHICH IMPLIES THAT YOU ACTUALLY ARE EVEN CAPABLE OF CARING ABOUT ANYONE!"

Tony carefully shut the hood, and turned towards the fuming girl. "It's my house, you live here, but it's my house. Should you get a say in who I invite over?"

"It's your house?" Wow, that was cold even for him, and what more should she have expected. "It's your house now? Because a few months ago it was our house. I didn't make you adopt me Tony Stark! I didn't even ask you to. That was your call, and I wish you had just told the nuns to screw off because then I could have stayed there INSTEAD OF LIVING IN THIS FROZEN HELL WITH YOU!"

Daisy couldn't even breathe, and stopped halfway up the stairs. He was so cruel. He was so heartless. She hated him, but what was worse was that she hated herself for wanting to love him.

"You're going to be late for school," Pepper whispered in her ear, helping the sobbing girl to her feet. "I'll pick you up after, if I ever get him on his plane."

"Make sure it crashes."


	12. Chapter 12

So no one wants to get a Secret Santa fanfic? No one? Also, I like how I wrote this chapter even though it's not normal. My friend described it as 'the writing itself is a metaphor' so enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 12

Things were better after school because Tony was gone. Pepper picked her up and the two girls used Tony's card to go out for dinner. Daisy suspected Pepper would have spent her birthday alone otherwise, and couldn't live with that. Both girls were the victims of Tony Stark's existence, and on days like today they liked to imagine it was them who were related, not Tony and Daisy.

When she finally dropped Daisy off at home, the girl could almost imagine her life was happy. The house was so quiet without Tony, and man was it nice. "Goodnight J.A.R.V.I.S."

"Good night Daisy."

Perhaps it was odd to let a teenage girl stay home alone for a week, but not for Daisy. Tony was constantly disappearing to this thing or another, and she liked being alone. J.A.R.V.I.S was programmed to alert Tony and Pepper if she threw a party or something, but she wouldn't do that anyways. Tony threw parties, and Daisy was not going to be anything like him.

"Good morning Daisy."

"Good morning J.A.R.V.I.S."

"Happy is waiting to drive with you to school." Ever since she'd gotten her permit Daisy had been doing all the driving, but Happy was certainly a better teacher than Tony. (He didn't understand why she couldn't just do it, the arrogant prick.)

"Thank you J.A.R.V.I.S." Daisy readied in a hurry, and went down to meet Happy. "You know we could take one of Tony's cars and he'd never no."

Happy laughed, but didn't take her up on the offer. Letting a 15-year-old girl drive a sports car is just asking for trouble. Tony only had those cars because he was trouble.

She was in Computer Science when Ms. Martin showed up. The guidance officer whispered a few words into the teacher's ear before motioning for Daisy to come. The other cadets whispered about being in trouble, but Daisy's heart was cold. She hadn't done anything. What could she possibly be in trouble for? What was going on?"

Ms. Martin didn't say anything, just led Daisy to her office where Pepper stood her eyes red. "What's wrong?" Daisy whispered looking hurriedly between the adults. "What happened?"

"Daisy, it's Tony," Pepper choked out. "Rhodey just called… his… Tony's hum-vee was bombed. They can't find him, but his escort is all dead."

Daisy fell into Pepper's arms, choking back on a sob. This was her fault. Daisy had wished for her father to die and now she'd gotten her wish. He was missing, probably worse, because of her. And even if it wasn't her fault she was a terrible person. She'd told Tony she hated him. She'd wished him dead.

It was a long night. Pepper and she sat in silence, staring at Tony's closed door. He wasn't in there. He wasn't in his hotel room in Afghanistan. He was missing. Or he was dead in a ditch. He wasn't safe. He wasn't coming home at the end of the week. He might never be coming home.

He isn't found that week, and Daisy barely moves from the couch. Pepper is up, handling the press, making everything work, but Daisy can't. She just doesn't know what to do. She doesn't know what to feel. Everything is such a mess.

He isn't found the next week, but Daisy goes back to school. She pretends to be happy when people offer condolences. She doesn't get in fights when people make jokes about it. She just does her work. Maybe she can be good enough that he'll have to come back.

She knows that makes no sense, but it is the only thing that keeps her doing.

The weeks turn into a month, and it's been too long. Even if the rumors are true and Tony is just being held hostage Daisy is still a minor. Social services calls Tony's lawyer. They look at the will. Rhodey would have been glad to take her in, but he can't care for her and look for Tony. Pepper steps up. The courts agree. Daisy agrees. She moves out. She can't stay in their house without Tony there.

The month turns into two. Daisy meets with Obadiah. He's temporary CEO until Tony is found. Or until Daisy turns 18 if he isn't. Tony make it clear his stocks go to her should he die, and Daisy makes it clear that as soon as she turns 18 she will take up the job. The Board of Directors has made it very clear that they will let her. She will be easy to control. She will be easier to control than Obadiah.

Daisy's birthday comes. Pepper takes her out to dinner and offers to have a sweet sixteen party. Daisy refuses. She gets her license. Pepper goes back to the house to get Daisy the car Tony bought for her months ago. Daisy can't go back.

It's August. Daisy is taking half a dozen online classes, getting all the credits she needs to start in September as a Junior instead of a Sophomore. She plans her schedule to take all the classes she needs. She'll graduate in June at 16. Tony would be proud. Dead men can't be proud. It's been three months. Hostages don't live three months. Rhodey won't say it. Rhodey is looking for a body. Rhodey has given up hope. Daisy has given up Hope.

Rhodey calls Pepper. The woman starts crying. Daisy doesn't understand her words. "They found him. They found him."

Tears of joy stream down Daisy's face as she begins to process the words. Tony was alive and safe. He would be home in less than a day. Tony was alive.

And for the first time in three months, so was Daisy.


	13. Chapter 13

The last chapter really bothered you guys, huh. Well, angry reviews are what I live for, so I'm glad.

* * *

Chapter 13

Tony's plane wasn't set to land until early the next morning, but Daisy didn't sleep at all that night. She couldn't help but wonder who would be getting off that plane. She couldn't help but wonder who would be going to meet Tony at that plane. She'd been so numb for three months, unable to move on without having any closure. Now it was over, but it also felt like it was just beginning.

And Tony probably hated her. Surely he'd heard her wish for his plane to crash. Even if he hadn't he'd heard her say life with him was Hell. She'd been so terrible to him, and then he'd gotten kidnapped by terrorists. Her words probably stewed within him for three months, hate budding from them. He'd probably kick her out; disown her like he'd threatened a few times. She'd deserve it if he did.

Happy, Pepper and Daisy drove to the airport in silence. None of them knew what to say. Tony was coming back, which is all they'd wanted for months, but he'd been held hostage. Surely he was hurt, emotionally and physically. He'd never be the man they knew again. He couldn't possibly be.

Daisy held her breath as the plane landed. She caught sight of her dad, sitting in a wheelchair Rhodey pushed. Was he okay? Was there something wrong with his legs? Was he paralyzed?

Tony stood up, and started yelling about getting rid of the ambulance. Daisy breathed a sigh of relief. He was still there. The man she knew was still in there. He was probably different, but he was still there. He wasn't just a shell like Daisy had been. He came back whole.

"Your eyes are red. A few tears for your long lost boss?" Tony looked straight at Pepper, not even noticing his daughter behind her. How could he not notice Daisy? Was he avoiding her? Was he hoping she'd disappear? Maybe he had amnesia and had forgotten about her completely. Maybe he didn't even know who she was.

Pepper must have replied, but Daisy didn't hear her. She was too busy staring at Tony, waiting for him to say something, do something that showed he felt something for her, even if it was hate. "Yeah vacation is over."

His eyes fluttered over to Daisy, and grew wide. She probably looked like hell. She'd barely slept in months, and not at all the night before. She wasn't wearing makeup, just jean-shorts and a ragged tee. It wasn't clothes Tony would know she'd own because they'd bought it in June. He probably didn't even recognize the trashcan that was his daughter.

"Daisy," he whispered pulling her into the tightest hug ever. She couldn't remember the last time he'd hugged her. She couldn't even remember if he'd ever hugged her. They were never like that. They were never very lovey-dovey, even before it fell to pieces. "Oh Daisy I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry. For the parties, and the girls, and for leaving you. You deserved better. You deserved a real father. I'm so sorry. I'll make it up to you, I promise."

Daisy didn't know how to respond, and just let him hold her. He'd been the one kidnapped, he should have been the one getting comforted, but Daisy couldn't bring herself to do it. She just wanted to stay in his arms and believe that he wouldn't just break his promises again. She just wanted to believe that he was real, that he was a father, that he was never going away again.

But she just didn't know how to. "I'm so sorry for what I said. I don't hate you. I didn't want you to die. I'm so sorry."

"I know," Tony promised breaking the hug. "It doesn't matter. That's the past. I'm going to be better, we're both going to be better. Okay?" Daisy nodded. "Good, let's go. I want a burger and a press conference."

Pepper looked horrified. "You need to go to a hospital!"

Tony climbed into the driver's seat, forcing Happy to go around the other side. "I'm fine! I don't need to go to the doctor. I've been held prisoner for three months. I want an American cheeseburger and a press conference."

"Tony you need…" Daisy objected, but the look he gave her stopped. She knew that look; she had the look. Daisy had that look whenever her mind was so set on doing something that nothing could change it. "Okay, burgers and a press conference."

Pepper knew that if Daisy was on Tony's side there was no changing anyone's mind. Quickly she started calling together people while Tony drove them all to the closest burger joint.

Daisy itched to ask him what had happened, but she ate in silence. Something was running through that brilliant mind of his, and she suspected that as soon as the press conference started she'd find out exactly what. For now Daisy just didn't want to push him away, because he might just disappear again.

Every single news team Daisy had ever heard of was at the conference when they arrived. Daisy sat off to the side, watching Tony with interest, and trying to figure out what he planned on saying.

Daisy heard Pepper talking to a man who claimed to be from some Strategic homeland something something division. She'd never heard of them before, but something about this man screamed 'fed'. He wore a crappy suit and tie, but he held a certain air of confidence. There was just something intriguing about him. He just held Daisy's attention like few ever could.

And, if he was meeting with Tony to debrief, she'd probably see him again. Good, maybe then she'd get a better understanding of what it was that just made him so attractive. Not attractive in the sexual sense. No, he was like Tony's age, but intriguing, just in the way he held himself. Daisy just felt like she needed to get to know him, know whatever he did. It was odd.

Tony was speaking, asking everyone to sit down, and I was weird, but not for him. A sit down press conference is just the kind of thing Tony Stark would do. The fact that it was such a normal thing was the oddest thing. Why was he acting so normal? Shouldn't he be at least frazzled by the whole kidnapping thing? Daisy just didn't understand him.

"I never got to say goodbye to my father," Tony began slowly looking over at Daisy. "And now that I am a father I realize how big that is. There's questions that I would have asked him. I would have asked him how he felt about what this company did. If he was conflicted, if he ever had doubts. Or maybe he was every inch the man we all remember from the newsreels." Tony took a deep breath, not for affect, but because talking of Howard Stark rattled him more than terrorists. "I saw young Americans killed by the very weapons I created to defend them and protect them. And I saw that I had become part of a system that is comfortable with zero accountability."

"Mr. Stark! What happened over there?"

It's what they were all wondering. It was why they were all here. What happened over there? Why was Tony acting so very normal and so extremely odd? He'd never talk about Howard if it wasn't absolutely necessary. What was going on?

"I had my eyes opened. I came to realize that I have more to offer this world than just making things that blow up. And that is why, effective immediately; I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing division." Tony's eyes were on Daisy as he finished. "I thought I was creating a better world for your children, but now I think it's time I create a better one for all of ours."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

It was Daisy's first night in the house in months, but she wasn't going to let Tony know that. They managed to get Tony into the passenger's seat, unsure whether he was even okay to be driving. Something was very much different with him, and whether or not he was okay was yet to be seen. Obadiah and everyone with shares in Stark Industries thought he was insane, but Daisy wasn't sure. So weapons manufacturing was 90% of what they did, but it was the worse 90%. The good stuff they did was the rest, and if Daisy could see that perhaps Tony was just seeing that as well.

Or maybe they were right and he was suffering from PTSD. Having your own weapons turned against you would be enough to drive the strongest person to terror and insanity. Maybe he was just scared that if he allowed weapons to continue being built they would be turned on him again.

Daisy didn't know, and she didn't care. All she cared about was that Tony was alive and back. She was going to find some way to bring normality back to their lives. She was going to find some way to fix this giant mess they were living in.

"Did they tell you anything?" Daisy was awkwardly standing in the living room, watching Tony awkwardly standing in the living room. It was like that first night all over again; neither of them knew how to act. "Did they tell you about…" He pointed to his chest, and Daisy nodded. "Want to see it?"

No, she very much did not, but Tony pulled off his shirt. The arc reactor shone in his chest, and Daisy couldn't help but think about what it was doing. If it was to come out he'd die. Metal was ripping through him, edging towards his heart, trying to kill him. Only that larger piece of metal and genius was keeping him alive.

"Does it hurt?" Daisy asked looking at him warily. "Does it feel like there's something in your chest?"

"I can feel it," Tony admitted pulling his shirt back on. "But it doesn't exactly hurt. It's like how you feel your heart, but it doesn't hurt." And like a heart if his arc reactor broke he'd die. "Anyway, it's late, you should get to bed."

Daisy could have argued that it was summer and she was 16 and didn't have a bedtime, but she didn't bother. She didn't want to fight with him now that he was home. She just wanted to be glad he was. "I'm not going to make you tell me what happened over there," she told him with a pointed look. "But you need to tell someone, or you're going to drive yourself insane."

"I learned how far a man must go for his family," Tony told her as she went to leave. "And I learned that I missed you every single day. That's what matters. Nothing else… not even this arc reactor… none of it matters as much as that."

Daisy so wanted to believe it. In all the months he'd been gone she should have forgiven him, but looking at him now she realized she hadn't. She just couldn't get past how terribly he'd screwed up the first time. Maybe he swore to try now, and maybe he would succeed, but the pain was there. That disappointment might never go away. She just had to try and live with it. "Goodnight Tony."

"Goodnight Daisy."

Daisy awoke the next morning to her phone ringing. Caller ID said it was Tony, and she instantly panicked. Was something wrong? He should have been in the house, so why was he calling her? What was wrong that he was calling her from in the house? "Hello?"

"You have small hands right?"

Daisy looked down at her hands. They weren't tiny or anything, but they were definitely smaller than Tony's. "Yeah, I guess so. What's wrong?"

"Come down to the workshop, I need your hands."

Tony hung up, and Daisy barely threw on a bra before running down the stairs. He was acting so weird something had to be wrong. Sure, he always acted weird, but he'd never asked for her help before with a project. He'd probably gotten hurt or something and needed her help or…

Tony was sitting topless in a chair, his arc reactor in his hands. Daisy wanted to scream, but held it in. Was he trying to kill himself? Why would he possibly take that out of him! And where was the other one coming from? He'd been home for a single night and built a new one.

"There's a little wire, behind this," Tony told Daisy handing her the old arc reactor. "I need you to put the old one on the table over there and then pull out this little copper wire." Daisy stared at horror. "Don't worry, it's perfectly safe. Just don't let it touch the edges or pull out the magnet at the end."

Daisy listened carefully, and reached in. There was a terrible squishing, but she just remembered that she was literally holding his life in her hands and carried on. Oh God why did he do things like this? She was 16 and so not supposed to be digging in his chest playing Operation! "Okay, I have the wire, just pull it out?"

"And be careful of the magnet."

She suspected that without the magnet he'd go into cardiac arrest, and pulled on the wire carefully. He hands wanted to shake, but she focused on keeping them steady and not killing him. Carefully she got out the wire, and helped him get the new reactor in place.

"See, that's why I called you and not Pepper because she would have pulled out the magnet."

"Don't ever ask me to do something like that again!" Daisy howled horrified. If something had gone wrong… "I don't want your life in my hands. I can't deal with it."

Tony looked down. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked you to do that. The good news is this upgraded version won't expire in a few days and kill me." Daisy paled at the thought. "It's fine, you did fine. Why don't you give that old arc reactor to Pepper, have her burn it or something."

"Fine," Daisy sighed storming up the stairs. He was so stupid for a genius. She shouldn't have had to do that. She wasn't sure she'd ever breathe again after doing that.

"What's that in your hand?" Pepper asked when Daisy appeared in the kitchen. "Oh my God you didn't just pull that from his chest!"

Daisy was annoyed at Tony, true, but they'd just established that she didn't want him dead. "I did, but only because he told me to. He's fine, go and see. He wants you to burn this or something."

Pepper took the arc reactor warily. "He doesn't want to keep it?"

"When is he ever nostalgic?" Daisy answered with a shrug. "I have my classes to work on. Tell him I'm in my room and just call if he needs any more surgery."

Tony was standing in the doorway, and Daisy knew it. Good. He deserved to hear her bitter words. Here he was talking about family, and trying, but he was doing a bang-up job at it.

"You can't just do stuff like this to her!" Pepper was yelling at Tony, apparently caring more about the girl she'd lived with for three months than her job. "She's been a mess Tony,and you can't make it worse by doing things like this. She hasn't stopped working. She asked me if I thought she was smart enough to take over Stark industries. She thinks if she graduates early people will think she's qualified for it when the time comes. She hasn't stopped working to impress you. Even when it looked like you weren't coming back. Don't put more stress on her!"

Adults sure loved to yell about her well being as if she couldn't hear them, and it drove Daisy nuts. She was fine. She wasn't some fragile doll like Pepper thought. She was just driven. (Who was she kidding, Daisy had been a complete mess, and would be for some time more. Her life was pretty stressful.)

"She doesn't even care about the company. Why would she care about taking over it to impress me?"

"Because you're her father and the only family she's got! So start acting like a father and thinking before you drive her over the edge."

Daisy wasn't sure what edge there was for her to fall over. She'd gone down when Tony disappeared, and now she was just trying to learn how to fly again.


	15. Chapter 15

So, I have a question for you guys. I have some 51K words written and am about 50% done. Would you prefer one fic that will probably be over 100K (YIKES I've never written anything that long) or two fics which would probably end up being 40K and 60K each. The first one would be Daisy as she lives with Tony, and the second how being his daughter affects her life long after she's grown up and moved out. What do you think? I'm definitely cool with either way, and unsure which one you prefer. I know the House of Anubis Fandom preferred me breaking things up and Merlin liked stuff to stay together, so what do you say? Think about it, put it in a review or message, and enjoy the chapter.

* * *

Chapter 15

Tony apologized to Daisy that night, and then was oddly quiet the next day. Or oddly un-talkative to be more exactly. Daisy could barely concentrate with all the sounds of thudding coming from the workshop. Still, it wasn't until Obadiah showed up that Daisy lost all sense of focus. She made the stupid decision to creep out of her room for food, and ended up eating a slice of his pizza. She hadn't had real New York pizza in 6 months, and she'd be damned if she missed the opportunity.

"So, do you know anything about his arc reactor?"

Daisy knew Obadiah had just been hounding Tony about it, and apparently not gotten the answers he wanted. Of course he thought he could get them from Daisy. A teenage girl couldn't possibly keep a secret after all.

"Nope, I've seen its glow and that's about it," Daisy lied folding her slice. In all reality she'd carefully analyzed the old one before handing it over to Pepper. If she really wanted to Daisy could probably recreate it, even if she still wasn't that good with hardware.

"You know I could probably get the Board to reinstate your father if I knew how the reactor worked."

Did he honestly think guilt tripping her would work? "Like I said, I'd help you if I could, but I don't know how he does it."

"But you're smart yourself, right?" He'd moved oddly close to her, and Daisy felt a chill go down her spine. "So you must be able to figure it out."

Daisy shrugged, "Perhaps if I took a few classes in quantum mechanics and energy transfer, but I'm sixteen and not an MIT graduate. I wish I could help, but I don't know how it works."

Obadiah stared for a long second, before nodding. "Well if you figure it out make sure to let me know. Oh, and keep the pizza."

Daisy took the pizza back to her room and listened to the continued sound of thumping. She wondered if perhaps she should check up on him; make sure he wasn't killing himself or something. Yet she also had a paper to write on the Calvin Cycle, and didn't feel like getting involved in whatever he was doing.

For a week Daisy pretended not to hear the thumping. She and Tony were civil to each other, which was the best they ever really got. Small moments of tenderness and general civilness was far better than the constant fighting they sometimes ended up with. If Daisy bothered him in the basement they probably would end up fighting.

By the end of the week though she'd had enough. Whatever he was up to was getting to be ridiculously loud. Plus, as little as she'd admit it, Daisy was curious as to what he'd been up to. Obviously it was something, and something big… and heavy.

"Oh my God." Her eyes nearly bulged out of her head as Daisy stared at her father floating for a second. "Is this what you've been doing? Building a super suit?" What would give him the idea to build a suit unless…. "That's how you escaped, isn't it? You designed a suit to fly out of there, and now you're trying it again."

Tony looked as if he hadn't planned on telling her, but now that she knew he just didn't want yelling. "I figured if I could build a better one capable of more sustained fight…"

"You could be a superhero."

"What?"

Daisy shrugged, studying the parts. "A superhero. You could fly around saving kittens from trees or something. Or like Captain America in those comics, fighting Nazis."

"There are no Nazis around," Tony reminded surprised she wasn't annoyed. Normally Daisy yelled when he did stupid things like build flying suits. She just seemed to think this was cool. "And Captain America was a real person you know."

"Steve Rodger, born, wait for it, July 4, 1918 to Sarah Rodgers only a few months after Joseph Rodgers died during World War I. He grew up and after multiple rejections joined Project Rebirth, became a super soldier, and fought the Nazis of Hydra."

Tony understood now why she wasn't yelling. "You have a thing for superheroes, don't you?"

"We all could use a good superhero. Yeah, I like superheroes, and that suit could make you one, which would be awesome."

Daisy realized that it could also be a disaster. Weren't superheroes supposed to be wicked good and noble guys before they got their powers? Tony wasn't that kind of a guy. Their whole issue was how irresponsible he could be.

And yet he'd been really responsible since getting back. She'd held his past against him, worried he'd mess up again. Maybe he'd changed for real this time. Maybe he wouldn't just revert to his old ways. Or maybe he'd just be a billionaire playboy in a super powered suit. She didn't know, but it looked like she was going to find out, soon.

Apparently soon was the next day, because there were multiple sightings of something flying over the city the next day. When Daisy went down to bring him the newly-framed arc reactor, he was sitting there with ice on his head, and a beat up suit.

"Proof that Tony Stark has a heart," Tony read with amusement. "And pain receptors as well it seems, can you pass me another ice pack."

Daisy looked over at the suit, and saw it covered in ice. "Why don't you just use that," she suggested with a laugh. "You know if it was waterproof you wouldn't have the same ice problem."

"That's not how it works, but I'm working on it."

"Good, and I'm going to help before you get yourself killed."

When Tony suggested Daisy come with him to the Disney Concert hall, she didn't mention that she was already going. Tony wasn't going out much lately, and some Stark had to be there, so Pepper suggested Daisy. It was far better though if Tony was coming. Daisy was fairly sure he didn't have PTSD, just his normal ambitious insanity. The suit was really starting to be something though, and Daisy liked to think she had a hand in that. Really she didn't do much but sit and watch Tony work, but one or two of her suggestions were useful. He might actually be able to be a hero in it, if he wanted to be.

"Mr. Stark." Daisy saw the Fed from the press conference, the one whose organization had that super long name, talking to Tony.

"You know he's not going to remember that meeting," Daisy chuckled when the man sat down besides her looking exhausted. "You need to talk to Pepper if you want a chance he'll talk to you, and then she usually is forcing him."

The man looked up at her, and it took him a moment to know who she was. "Miss Stark?"

"Call me Daisy," she smiled with an extended hand. "You're with the Strategic Homeland Interventions, Enforcement and Logistics Division, right?"

The man nodded, seemingly impressed that she remembered the name. "Yes, you have a good memory Daisy, which isn't surprising considering."

"You could just call it S.H.I.E.L.D if you want," she suggested with a shrug. 'I'm actually surprised you didn't come up with the acronym first and then the full name they're so perfectly tied together."

The man, Agent Coulson, nodded. "Aren't you a bit young to be at events like this?"

"Probably, but everyone knows who I am anyway so it's not like they are going to serve me drinks. How about you, aren't you a bit too federal to be at events like these?"

Coulson laughed, "The man over there is a senator. I'm pretty sure he's more federal than me." Well someone obviously didn't understand the way the government worked. "Do you think you could remind your father about our meeting? It's really important that we speak."

"I'll remind him, but he doesn't usually listen to me." He actually listened to Daisy almost never. "Because I like you Agent Coulson. You seem cool, knowledgeable, interesting."

"You're Tony Stark's daughter and think I have a more interesting life?"

Daisy stood up, and went to go before calling over her shoulder (in typical overdramatic Stark fashion) "Yes."

Pepper and Tony were dancing, and Daisy wanted to die. The two of them should just get married and be done with it they were so perfect for each other. Honestly, Pepper was the only woman who'd ever put up with Tony, and she was one of the only people he cared about. They belonged together, and so needed tot make it official.

And yet they probably never would, because that just wasn't their personalities. They'd continue this awkward workplace non-romance, and let themselves be miserable instead of just dating.

Daisy looked around, and realized they weren't dancing anymore. They weren't even together anymore, and Tony had disappeared. Without even thinking about it Daisy hopped into her car and drove home, praying Tony would be there when she arrived. He wasn't though, and the suit was gone. Cursing herself for encouraging him, Daisy dialed Pepper.

"Pepper, I have the bad feeling Tony is about to do something stupid. And I mean stupider than normal because I know he's always doing something stupid. And I may know about a super suit Tony built that I think he's going to take to do something stupid."

"Try to find a clue as to where he's gone and then call Rhodey. I'm heading your way and then you can explain to me what you mean by 'super suit'."


	16. Chapter 16

It looks like one long fic you guys want so one long fic it will be.

* * *

Chapter 16

Daisy of course was right about Tony doing something stupid. Tony had the brilliant idea to fly the barely functioning suit all the way to Afghanistan. If Rhodey hadn't known it was Tony in the sky they might have just blown him out of it.

And yet for once Daisy was not part of the 'mad at Tony Stark' club. She was actually really freaking proud of him. He'd flown back to the war zone where he'd been held and saved lives. He'd been the true hero he needed to be, and it was wonderful.

"I'm not going to help you kill yourself!" Pepper howled pacing back and forth. "I will not help you."

Daisy didn't even know what they were talking about, having zoned out when they began yelling. It was only when Pepper grabbed a flash drive and stalked off that Daisy's mind turned back on. "I'm going to go get some sleep, I can barley think."

"Okay, I'm sorry if I worried you."

"Hey," Daisy told him with a smile. "You were a hero. What more can I ask from you than that?"

"You're not mad at me?"

She was mad at him a lot, but only when he was selfish. He was very unselfish when he put on the suit, and Daisy couldn't hate him for that. "I'm going to worry about you, but you're doing the right thing. We're going to figure this all out."

"I'm supposed to be the one telling you it's all going to be alright."

Daisy chuckled, yeah he probably was. "I wouldn't believe you anyways. Whenever an adult say everything is going to be okay it means everything is very much not going to be okay."

"So what does it mean when a teenager says it?"

"That she needs sleep," Daisy chuckled before heading towards the stairs. When she reached the top, she turned back around, a smile on her face. "Goodnight Tony."

"Goodnight Daisy."

Daisy awoke to sounds in the living room. She should have been used to that by now considering all that Tony did, but she just wasn't. Sure that she wasn't going back to sleep any time soon, she decided to see what he was up to. Maybe she could even convince him to get some sleep as well.

"Hey what are you…" Daisy broke off speaking as she turned the corner and found Obadiah walking away from her paralyzed father.

"Daisy, Daisy, Daisy," Obadiah sighed a sickening smile on his face. "You couldn't just stay asleep? No, you had to mettle, just like your father. I didn't want to hurt you Daisy, you're so young. But you'll always be standing in the way of what I want anyways. It's better now than in a few years I think." Daisy tried to dart away, but he moved impossibly fast and grabbed her. "Oh don't worry, I won't kill you right away. No, you'll be my insurance to make sure no one tries to stop me."

Daisy licked the hand he was using to cover her mouth, and he pulled it away instinctively. "You son of a bitch," she howled kicking him and fighting every way she knew how. Annoyed by her response, Obadiah didn't even bother to use the device, but instead knocked her out with a thud against the wall.

When Daisy woke up, she found herself surrounded by metal. "Help, Help! Is anyone out there!" she screaming banging on the suit of armor around her. "Please, is someone out there?"

"Daisy!" Pepper's voice sounded like a thousand angels to Daisy. "Daisy where are you?"

"I'm in here!" she cried pounding on the suit. Quickly she heard rustling above her and blinked away the light. "Agent Coulson?"

He stood above her, the head of an iron-man suit in his hands. "We're going to get you out of here Daisy," he promised, and Daisy felt hands taking apart the suit. Quickly she was free, and held tight in Pepper's arms.

"We need to get out of here," Daisy urged looking around terrified. "Obadiah said I was his assurance he has to be around here somewhere."

"Get Daisy somewhere safe," Coulson ordered Pepper looking around the room. "We'll find Obadiah."

"I can stay and help!" Daisy cried. "I know a lot more about these suits than you do."

Agent Coulson seemed to consider it, but Pepper dragged Daisy along. "When Tony gets here you'll just be one more distraction. Come on, we have to go."

It felt wrong to Daisy, running away from a fight, but Pepper was right. Only Tony could use his suit to stop Obadiah's suit. If Daisy was here he'd be so focused on protecting her he'd get himself killed.

Pepper and Daisy ran blocks before the assistant stopped. "You stay here, please Daisy, don't come after us."

"You're going back?" She was going to leave Daisy alone? "Let me help you please. I want to help."

"Promise me you'll stay here." Daisy nodded, and watched with horror as Pepper ran back towards the fight.

It was terrible, sitting there in the street waiting for news. Daisy could hear screaming. She could hear fighting. Hell, she even saw Tony flying up at one point, a giant suit following behind him. And through all of it she could do nothing. She'd promised everyone to stay away, to stay safe, and she would. Right now it was the best option, but Daisy hated it. She wanted to be able to help, and she just couldn't.

"When this is over I'm going to make him build me a suit if I have to. No way in Hell am I ever sitting here helpless again," she muttered to herself thinking of all the wonderful things she could do as a hero. It would be wonderful, flying, saving people, making a difference.

The idea of it kept Daisy sane while she waited for over an hour for someone to come and get her. When Pepper finally showed up, looking terrible, Daisy was terrified. Had something happened to Tony? Was he dead?

"Come on," Pepper urged after hugging the girl tight. "Your dad is waiting for you at home."

Daisy breathed a sigh of relief. Her dad was still alive, and they were going home.

* * *

AN: I expect a lot of you are disappointed that I didn't have Daisy there for the fight, but she's 15. At 15 you feel helpless, and decide someday you won't be helpless. That second part is the part that matters.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

They'd tried to keep Daisy from coming to the press conference, but she would hear none of it. They'd kept her away from the fight and she could barely handle that. It wasn't like a press conference was dangerous. No way in Hell were they keeping her away.

"What do you think Daisy, is Iron Man a good name?"

Daisy looked up from her laptop when Tony spoke. "Yeah, I mean it's not accurate but "titanium alloy man' just doesn't have the same ring." Tony laughed at that, and Daisy suspected he would have said the exact same thing. "You know what sounds even better though, Iron Woman."

"Don't you dare get any ideas in your head," Tony ordered looking annoyed. "Agent, did you need something?"

"Here's your alibi," Coulson answered handing Tony a card. "Just read it word for word."

Daisy sat back in her chair looking at Agent Coulson. He looked the same as he did back at the first press conferences, except now he had that look. The look everyone got after spending a lot of time in Tony Stark's presence. The look of amazement and horror wrapped up with understanding of how complex a man he was. "So do you do this a lot?" Daisy asked looking at the card. "Are there other unexplainable things that you've just made disappear with a few note cards? Any I would have heard of?"

"None." Coulson was obviously lying, and that made Daisy smile. "Do you need some note cards as well Daisy, or are you good at keeping secrets?"

"I'm good AC," Daisy promised.

"Well I'm sure you will be hearing from us soon," Coulson nodded. "You'll be hearing from S.H.I.E.L.D." Daisy could have sworn he winked at her as he disappeared from the room. As he went Pepper walked in, and with a look Daisy scurried out so Pepper and Tony could be alone.

"Yes AC I'm good at keeping secrets, and I'm also good at finding out secrets," Daisy muttered leaning her ear against the door. Maybe eavesdropping was wrong, but she just plain didn't care.

"You know, if I were Iron Man, I'd have this girlfriend who knew my true identity. She'd be a wreck, 'cause she'd always be worrying that I was going to die, yet so proud of the man I'd become. She'd be wildly conflicted, which would only make her more crazy about me. Tell me you never think about that night."

Daisy pulled her ear away from the door, not wanting to know what happened on said 'night' and trying to keep her mind was wandering. "Okay, no more eavesdropping," she promised wiping images from her mind. Sure, she wanted Pepper and Tony together but… Ugg.

Daisy took her seat just as Rhodey finished speaking, "And now, Mr Stark has prepared a statement. He will not be taking any questions."

Yeah right, Tony would probably answer a million questions now just to annoy Rhodey. They were best friends, and that's the only way to treat a best friend.

"Thank you. Been a while since I was in front of you. I figure I'll stick to the cards this time." Everyone laughed at Tony's joke, but Daisy wished they knew. "There's been speculation that I was involved in the events that occurred on the freeway and the rooftop..."

"I'm sorry, Mr Stark, but do you honestly expect us to believe that that was a bodyguard in a suit that conveniently appeared, despite the fact that you.." Of course it would be that pesky reporter Tony slept with. Of course she had to still be trailing him around. No one could ever just leave them be.

"I know that it's confusing. It's is one thing to question the official story, and another thing entirely to make wild accusations, or insinuate that I'm a superhero." Oh God, Daisy was not sure anyone at S.H.I.E.L.D would like where this was going.

"I never said you were a superhero." But Daisy had, and now Tony was going to have a hay day.

"You didn't? Well, good, because that would be outlandish and fantastic. I'm just not the hero type. Clearly. With this laundry list of character defects, all the mistakes I've made, largely public." He looked over at Daisy, who, despite her better judgment nodded at him to do it. "Yeah, okay. Yeah, the truth is I am Iron Man."

Agent Coulson of course looked ready to have a hernia, but he didn't say anything, just walked out of the room. Tony was too busy answering technical questions and praising himself as a superhero to notice, but Daisy followed him out. If they weren't going to before they'd certainly be hearing from S.H.I.E.L.D now.

"So you were urging me to do it right?" Tony asked as he unlocked the house door. "To tell the truth, reveal myself as Iron Man?"

Daisy nodded. "Look, if you hadn't made it public either S.H.I.E.L.D or the military would have ended up with the suit. By saying it's yours you just made it a million times harder for anyone to take it away. I don't want you to lose your ability to make a difference because superheroes are supposed to keep their identities secret."

"And it had nothing to do with you wanting me to build you a suit?"

Daisy smiled. "We'll talk about that another time. For now I just want to get out of these heels and…" Daisy stopped as the light turned on and a strange man stood in their living room. "Who the Hell are you?"

"I think it's time you go to bed Miss Stark." The man dogged looking angrily at Tony. "While 'Iron Man' and I have a talk."

"You're S.H.I.E.L.D, aren't you? Did you do something to Agent Coulson? Where is he?"

"Daisy, maybe you should go to bed," Tony urged looking warily at the man in the eye patch. "I'm sure Agent Coulson is fine."

"He is," the man promised, but Daisy didn't move. Seeing it was a helpless cause, he just carried on. "I'm Nick Fury, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. I'm here because you just made yourselves a part of a much weirder world with your announcement today. Agent Coulson said you asked about us doing cover ups before. The answer is yes, we have. There have been other incidents, and that is why I am here to talk to you about the Avengers Initiative."


	18. Chapter 18

I love you guys. So many followers and favorites! Every morning I wake up to more and I'm infinitely grateful. Also, I have a whole rant on tumblr (I'm ScarletWitchandQuake) about how time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe makes no sense. Iron man II is supposed to be about 6 months after the first one, but it takes place end of May since we see Tony's birthday in it. So I'm going with this being the last week of May 2009 for simplicity's sake. Shoot me. Also there's no good transcript for Iron Man II, so bear with me.

* * *

May 2009

Chapter 18

Daisy sat in the front row of the Stark World Expo only slightly wanting to kill her father. He was being incredibly narcissistic again, as shown by the expo itself, never mind his entrance. And his entrance… well don't even get Daisy started on that. Were the dozens of scantily clad girls really necessary? People cheered more when he came down in the suit than with the girls. Did they really make anything better?

In Tony's mind they apparently did. Perhaps he'd been good. Perhaps he wasn't spending every moment thinking about girls, but they were still constantly on his mind. Apparently he was still really a guy, and Daisy just had to deal with that.

And she was. She was dealing with all the crap that came with being Iron Man's daughter in addition to Tony Stark's daughter. She'd encouraged him to reveal his true identity, and so she would support him in what he did now. Besides, everything was pretty harmless. Annoying as hell, sure, especially for Daisy, but harmless.

Plus the Stark Expo might be a show of Tony's ego, but it was also a brilliant idea. Scientists from around the world working together to actually get something done? Basic world peace already having been achieved by Tony? Daisy could not be complaining. Maybe Tony was a hero with an ego, but he was a real true hero, and someone Daisy was proud to call dad.

Or well she would be proud to call him dad if she could get up the courage to do so. For over a year she'd been living with him, and yet the word hadn't come out once. She thought of him as her dad for sure, but actually saying it allowed? Well that was a huge step. Even she wasn't sure how he'd respond. What if it freaked him out too much? What if it felt wrong and he got insulted when she went back to calling him Tony? What if calling him dad made him act more like one and less like Daisy's friend?

There were a lot of reasons why Daisy had yet to do it, but she suspected if she didn't do it soon she'd never be able to. He'd already heard to him referred to as 'my dad', he was probably waiting for him to flat out address him as such.

"That was cool right?" Tony asked once Daisy met with him backstage. "They all seemed to think it was pretty cool."

Daisy rolled her eyes, and laughed. "Yes, it was cool."

"Cool," Tony replied opening the door to sign things for his adoring fans. Daisy always found this part amusing, especially when there were little kids dressed up as Iron Man.

"You know there are never any little girls dressed up as Iron Man," Daisy commented once they'd pushed their way towards the car. "But they would definitely dress up as Iron Girl."

Tony pulled off his sunglasses to give Daisy his bemused look. "Iron girl? I thought it was Iron Woman."

"Woman has too many syllables," Daisy replied with a shrug. She'd actually thought about it quite a lot, whether or not making it 'girl' belittled things. In the end though she decided being Iron Girl was even better than being Iron Woman and not just for the sake of flow. By the time someone was a woman they really didn't need a role model. It was the girls who did. There was nothing wrong with being a girl, and someone needed to show the world that. "But Iron Girl, that sounds just right."

Tony didn't even tell her no; they'd already had this passive aggressive discussion once that day. They had that passive-aggressive discussion every day. Tony refused to built Daisy a suit insisting it only brought on danger she didn't need. Daisy insisted that knowing Tony was danger, as proved by Obadiah, and that she could much better protect herself with a suit.

Tony didn't disagree that she needed to protect herself, and had a whole gym built for her to train in. Daisy didn't like the training at first, but she figured that maybe if she could prove how well she fought without a suit Tony would let her have one. It was most definitely a long shot, but she figured it was worth a shot. At this point she'd try anything because it really was starting to look like she wasn't getting a suit at all.

Daisy was pulled from her scheming by the sound of a woman knocking on the window. She was cute, so of course Tony rolled it down. "Why hello there, who are you?"

"Marshal," she replied with a smile and Daisy groaned. Oh this was not going to end well. "And I'm here looking for you."

Tony could see Daisy out of the corner of his eye, but he pretended not to. She pretended her couldn't see her gagging. "Oh, and why is that?"

"To serve you," she smiled trying to hand him the subpoena. Knowing he'd never take it, Daisy grabbed it for him, and jammed it into his hands. "You are hereby ordered to appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m."

"Can I at least see the badge?" Tony asked, but Daisy smacked him across the head (quite literally mind you), and the man began the long drive to D.C. "You don't have to be so rude Daisy."

"Happy, am I not always rude?" Daisy asked turning to where the unfortunate chauffer sat in the backseat. Happy nodded, and Daisy turned to her father pleased. "She was cute though, I'll give you that."

The only thing that made Tony uncomfortable was when Daisy started talking about girls, so he quickly changed the subject. "I can drop you off at the airport before heading to D.C. if you want."

"I don't have to take any finals so I have the week free. Might as well spend some time in Senate." She'd never been to any form of Congress before, and might as well take the opportunity to do so. "It sounds like fun."

Tony laughed at that, and sped up the car. "The Senate is never fun."

"No, but you making fun of people in positions of authority is."


	19. Chapter 19

I promise I didn't forget you. I have just been very busy today and actually needed to do work during Ap Bio. (Because my teacher isn't teaching so I just decided to read the textbook.) Anyway, enjoy

* * *

Chapter 19

And Tony sure as Hell was good at making fun of people in positions of authority. Throughout the whole meeting Tony mouthed off to Senator Stern and Pepper had to keep both Starks from laughing hysterically. When Tony humiliated Justin 'Dickwad' Hammer Daisy couldn't control herself, not even when Pepper threatened murder. Of course Tony was feeding off of Daisy, trying to amuse her even more, but she couldn't control herself. They had the same irreverent sense of humor, and Stern was an idiot.

The whole thing actually reminded Daisy of when she first met Tony. He'd been equally disrespectful to that judge over a year ago as he was now to the Senator. Tony was honestly incapable of respecting authority. Daisy was bad, but Tony was incapable.

On the plane ride back to Malibu, Daisy found herself and Tony watching reruns of the Senate fiasco and trying not to laugh loud enough for Pepper to hear. She and Happy were sitting up front, probably discussing something important that Tony should have a say in. Sometimes it concerned her how little Tony actually did for the company, but Daisy didn't pretend she'd act any differently.

"Do you want to be Stark Industries CEO?"

Tony was a superhero, but he didn't have any powers. Still, sometimes it truly seemed to Daisy like he could read her mind. "No way in Hell, why, does that bother you?"

"No," Tony admitted taking another sip of his drink. "I think it would have a year ago, but now it doesn't. Hell, I don't want to be CEO."

Daisy wasn't surprised by that. Before Afghanistan he hadn't been really into the business, but it mattered to him. Now he really just cared about being Iron Man. Daisy would only care about that too if she had a suit, so again, she couldn't blame him. "Why do you ask?"

"I think I'm going to make Pepper CEO," Tony admitted looking to where the woman was furiously typing something up. "She already basically runs the company, it would be nice to make it official."

Daisy beamed; Pepper would be absolutely thrilled. "Please do, I don't want the job, but she does. She's the only one who can do it anyways, she has been since Afghanistan at least."

"I know," Tony admitted with a nod, clearly glad to have someone agreeing with him. (Tony loved it when people agreed with him.) "I just wanted to make sure I wasn't wrong and you weren't planning on the job. She'll never take it if I don't have your approval."

No, Pepper wouldn't. She'd feel like she was taking away Daisy's inheritance. "Let's be honest, she'll probably still have a clause in the contract that says I can have the job if I ever want it. She's just nice like that."

"Yes, Pepper is very nice."

Tony looked so horribly smitten that Daisy wanted to gag and squeal. She started humming Little Mermaid's "Kiss the Girl", but Tony didn't get it. How unfortunate it was that he didn't have intricate knowledge of Disney.

Knowing that Tony would probably want to tell Pepper as soon as possible, she had no qualms with hacking into J.A.R.V.I.S to eavesdrop. Okay, so maybe it was still wrong, but Tony knew that Daisy could get into the system. He would have blocked her out by now if he could figure out how, but she'd surpassed even him when it came to hacking. He hadn't punished her though for her skills, which Daisy took as an 'ok' to keep using them. Tony knew she eavesdropped, and if he wanted to stop her, he could just tell her to stop.

It was adorable listening to Pepper and Tony talk. She was yelling at him, like always, this time for selling some art collection. Daisy wasn't sure why Tony was donating art to the Boy Scouts, but she didn't care. Pepper did though, and was thoroughly upset about it…or at least until Tony finally spit out that she should be CEO.

Daisy had yet figured out how to get a visual, but she heard Pepper's smile in the woman's voice.

"But what about Daisy?" Of course those would be the first words out of her mouth. Of course Pepper would just wonder how it would affect her. Honestly the woman was the best mother Daisy could ever want, and they weren't even related.a

"I asked Daisy, she doesn't want to be CEO," Tony promised sounding amused that their assumption came to pass. "Ask her yourself if you want, she'll tell you it's the truth. Hell, she's probably listening to us right now."

Daisy wanted to cry; Pepper wasn't supposed to know about the hacking. "Daisy Stark, if you can hear me right now you better get down here this instant."

Pepper would find out Daisy was listening either way, so she hauled ass down into the lab. Tony had managed a glass of champagne into the woman's hand, but she didn't appear to have drunk enough to get Daisy out of trouble.

"Congratulations!" Daisy grinned knowing she was getting a lecture if she didn't change the subject fast enough. "The new CEO of Stark Industries, Pepper Potts!"

Pepper was not having any of it. "Have you really been hacking into J.A.R.V.I.S to eavesdrop on your father and guests?"

Yeah, Daisy was not getting out of this, but maybe if she made Pepper angry at both of them she'd be spread too thin to do much damage. "Hey, he basically gave me permission to."

Tony looked hurt that she would throw him under the bus like that, but it worked. Pepper looked furiously between the two of them, and muttered about stupid Starks before downing her drink. "No hacking," she finally ordered before smiling to celebrate the promotion. "Or I'll make you be CEO."

It certainly wasn't a typical threat, but it was an effective one. Daisy could not imagine being CEO if her life depended on it, because then other lives would depend on her. She wasn't the businesswoman type. That was Pepper, through and through, hence why she had the Job and Daisy, luckily, didn't. "Yes Mom." There wasn't even enough sarcasm in Daisy's voice as she said it, and Pepper smiled softly. So that was what Daisy had to do to get out of trouble; she'd definitely make a note of that.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Pepper, brilliantly efficient as always, had the notary there the next morning. Tony and Happy were busy boxing when she arrived, so Daisy was the only one watching how closely she studied everything. The woman was obviously brilliant, and greatly underemployed. Her eyes showed complete understanding the moment they scanned the room, and it was impressive as hell.

Pepper dragged Tony away enough to sign away the company, and Daisy made her way into the ring. Happy refused to ever punch back, but Daisy still found practicing useful.

"Daisy, let Miss Rushman use your gear so Happy can give her a lesson."

Daisy stopped to look at her father and the woman. She was about Daisy's size, maybe even a couple inches shorter, but obviously tough. Even in her high heels that was obvious. "Oh come on, we don't need her beating Happy up, she can fight me."

Tony waved his hand, obviously just wanting to see her fight someone. Happy crawled from the rink, and Daisy found herself face to face with the genius woman. "I'll warn you, I took martial arts as a kid," Natalie whispered as she squared up. Daisy watched the woman shift her weight, and was suddenly terrified. The woman wasn't just smart, she was strong, deceptively so.

Still, Daisy was as well, and found herself throwing a quick punch at the woman. Natalie moved quicker, blocking it and knocking Daisy onto her ass, but as the notary went to leave, Daisy tripped her. Natalie didn't fall, but she gave Daisy a firm nod of approval. Daisy had almost gotten a blow in, which she suspected was an incredible feat for anyone.

"Yes Tony, I think you should make her your PA," Daisy called from the rink dragging herself up. Natalie flashed the teen a soft smile, before finishing up her work and quickly accepting the job.

Daisy ran into Natalie later that day, as she made phone calls in the kitchen. The teen watched the beautiful woman from the corner of her eye, all the while making a sandwich. There was just something about Natalie. She walked in a way that no notary or PA did, in a way that screamed 'Greek goddess'. It was ever attractive to a younger girl, looking for strength in woman everywhere. "So you're a pretty good fighter right?"

"I'm really just a ballerina," Natalie laughed as if it was the funniest joke ever. "But I know a bit about fighting. You do as well it seems."

Daisy shrugged, slathering mayo, "Well he gets the suit and I get the boxing gloves. It's not a fair trade, but it's better than nothing."

"He's never let you into the suit then?"

"I wish," Daisy sighed closing the fridge and making her way from the kitchen. "He thinks he's protecting me. Working for him is going to be hell, just preparing you, but he does care about people. If you think otherwise you won't last a week."

Natalie nodded, seemingly grateful for the knowledge, and yet Daisy couldn't shake the feeling that Natalie already knew that. That Natalie already knew a lot of things.

Perhaps she was just being paranoid. She had been getting increasingly paranoid over the past few months, certain that this 'peace' Iron Man created couldn't last. Sure, a nuclear deterrent worked some, but the US had fought many wars since World War II. Iron Man couldn't prevent trouble forever, but Daisy was sure he'd always be there to fight. She believed in Tony enough to know that.

"I'm heading to Monaco," Tony called a few hours later. "You sure you don't want to come?"

Oh Daisy was very sure. Fast cars were Tony's thing, and Monaco was full of pretty girls. It was good for Tony to have some alone time, and good for Daisy to have alone time as well. He was trying to include her in as much as possible, making up for the time they missed and wouldn't have once she was at MIT in September. And as much fun as it was most of the time to be hanging out with him, Daisy needed some alone time. She was glad to stay home.

Or she was glad to stay home until the next day when J.A.R.V.I.S advised her to turn the TV on because Tony was joining the race. She tried not to be too concerned, he did stupid dangerous stuff all the time, but it was different when he wasn't in the suit. The stupid dangerous stuff he did as Iron Man was usually for the greater good… this was for his ego. This was for fun. Why did his definition of fun have to include life-threatening situations?

Still, Daisy wasn't too terrified until the madman stepped out on the tracks and started killing people. Here she was once again too far away to help Tony. She'd promised herself six months ago that she'd never just sit by and wait for news again, and yet she was. Once again there was nothing Daisy could do, and she felt so frigging helpless.

Tony beat the man, after a terrifying fight. He called her immediately, but she didn't pick up the phone. She didn't want him to know that she saw everything, that she thought she was going to see him die. If she'd talked to him before going down and sparing with one of the guards he'd left to watch her, he'd know. Daisy couldn't let him know how scared she'd been, she just couldn't. He'd never let her help him if he knew how scared she was, and today was just more proof that Tony really did need someone, Daisy, there to help him. Or else sooner or later he was going to die.

Perhaps Daisy wasn't mad at him for risking his life when he actually did it, but she was by the time he got home. He'd been a lot better about his recklessness since Afghanistan, and now he was slipping again. Daisy refused to believe it was just the inevitable given the passage of time. There had to be something wrong, and maybe if she yelled at him he'd let slip what.

"How could you do something so stupid!" Daisy howled pretending to be more annoyed than she was. (And she was pretty annoyed.) "And I'm not talking about the man with the arc reactor, because that wasn't your fault. You had to fight him. No, I'm talking about you getting in a friggin' race car! You don't know how to race, did you forget about that, dad?"

The word was out of her mouth before she could even realize it. For weeks she'd been agonizing over how best to let the name slip, and this was not one of the situations she'd imagined. Biting her lip, Daisy stopped yelling, and waited for his reaction. So much for him actually listening to her message of him being reckless.

"Did you just call me dad?"

Daisy nodded, glad to see that he didn't seem upset, but still unsure. "Yeah, I guess so. I mean you are my dad, have been for over a year, I guess I think of you that way, there's no reason for me to call you Tony. Unless it's not okay…"

"No, no it's okay," Tony whispered, and Daisy realized he was crying. Why was he crying? She'd expected him to be surprised of course, but not to cry. "It's just now… you finally decide now and it's too…"

Daisy took a step back. "Why does it sound like you were about to say it's too late?" Now that he said it, Daisy really looked at him. He was paler than normal, and sweating. "What's that on your neck?"

"Road rash," Tony lied, but Daisy didn't believe a word of it. Especially not when he peeled off his shirt and it was covering his chest as well. "Daisy, I need you to hand me that box over there."

Daisy did so, horrified by the sight of him. Carefully Tony took out the reactor, and Daisy caught sight of its steaming core. "It's the palladium isn't it?" Daisy might not have been as smart as Tony, who was, but she wasn't going to MIT at 17 for nothing. "It's poisoning you. That's why you're being so reckless. That's why it's too late for me to call you dad. You're dying."

Tony replaced the core without replying, and then pulled Daisy into a tight hug. "I'm not dying," he promised, but Daisy remembered he broke promises often. "My blood is only about 50% contaminated. I have enough time to figure out a solution, and I am. I'll be fine."

"J.A.R.V.I.S, is he telling the truth?"

"Mr. Stark is attempting to find another element capable of supporting the arc reactor."

When even the AI was avoiding the question, Daisy knew it was bad news. "You could run those simulations in minutes. There is no element, is there?"

"No, Daisy, there is not," Tony answered for the machine. "But that doesn't mean I'm a dead man. There has to be a solution… I just need to figure it out. That's why you can't tell Pepper or Rhodey. I don't need them worrying about me for nothing."

Daisy wouldn't say him dying was nothing, but she nodded. "I won't tell them," she promised wiping her eyes. "But you need to find a way. I can't lose you, not after everything. And even more importantly the world can't lose Iron Man, today proved that."

"I'm not going to die," he promised, but as Daisy wiped her eyes and disappeared to her room she knew neither believed it. Tony was dying. Her dad was dying. She went fifteen and a half years without him, only to have him for five months, lose him for three, have him for seven. She couldn't bear to lose him again, even more than the world couldn't bear to lose Iron Man.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Daisy was glad that her eyes weren't still puffy when Tony entered her room. He didn't need to know that she'd been crying. As far as he knew she totally believed he would make a full recovery. If he knew she was doubting him he'd doubt himself, and then he'd really be doomed.

"Natalie thinks I should probably call off my birthday party," Tony confessed with a sigh. "Do you agree?"

He probably should call off the party, but Daisy sure as Hell wasn't going to tell him to. "It's something you need to do for yourself. I said that when you first asked me about having the party here, and I'll say it now."

Tony was glad she approved, that much was obvious, but he still looked worried. "I'll keep it sane, alright, I promise."

He didn't keep it sane.

Daisy should have known he wouldn't. The man was pretty darn sure of his eminent death, of course he was going to live like there was no tomorrow. The issue with alcohol is that it lowers your inhibitions. Having one drink makes you feel like it's okay to have one more, and the positive feedback loop ensures. Daisy felt like she couldn't tell Tony not to party considering it might be his last, but she should have known that because it was his last he'd be a hellion.

"Daisy," Rhodey cried, storming towards where the girl stood helplessly horrified. "What the Hell is he on?"

She'd promised she wouldn't tell, but then again he'd promised to keep it sane. Still, Rhodey knowing wouldn't help. "I have no idea, but Rhodey, he just peed in the suit! He's completely gone insane."

"I know," Rhodey growled before dashing off. Daisy looked around frantically for anything that might help her grab Tony's attention, but found nothing. Nothing until she saw another suit standing before her, Rhodey inside.

No, Daisy couldn't believe it. There were a million protocols to ensure no one but Tony could get into a suit. Not even Daisy could get into a suit. Surely he wouldn't change it so Rhodey could get in. Surely if he was secretly bequeathing someone a suit he'd made it Daisy…

No, he'd never make it Daisy, and he was completely out of his mind.

"You need to get out of here," Pepper cried seeing the standoff unfolding. "This isn't going to end well."

No, Daisy knew that, but she was so sick of running away while her father got in fights. Still, this was different. Rhodey wasn't the villain here, no, if anyone was the villain it was Tony.

"Please, you have to stop this!" Daisy cried as the men flew at each other. Tony was her dad and Rhodey her uncle; how could they just fight like this. "You're acting insane."

"Get out of here Daisy," they chorused in unison, only going to prove that even while fighting they were still one mind, two bodies. "This has nothing to do with you."

Except it had everything to do with Daisy because they were tearing apart her house. The whole place was crumbling down, and neither man seemed to care.

Daisy screamed as she felt someone scoop her up off the ground. She fought frantically to be put down, but it was Natalie who'd grabbed her. Natalie who was impossibly strong and no way in Hell letting a 16-year-old-girl stand between two fighting Iron Man suits.

"You need to let me back in there!" Daisy screamed as flashes of light and more damage occurred. "I can get them to stop, they'll listen to me!"

Natalie gave Daisy a look, and it stopped her from struggling. There was no pity in her eyes, only a question- are you going to act like a child, or are you going to make a difference?

Daisy wasn't a child, and she stopped acting like them. They were two men brawling about a lot more than Tony's actions tonight. Nothing Daisy said would stop them, not when both felt like they deserved to be beaten on and to beat the other.

The whole house was destroyed by the time Rhodey flew away and Natalie let Daisy back in. There was a hole straight through , and her bed was teetering towards the now-exposed basement beneath it. Daisy pulled it back, screaming in frustration. Tony had disappeared, and now Daisy was left to deal with this mess of a life on her own.

No, he made this mess, he was going to clean it up. Just because he was dying that did not give Tony an excuse to get himself killed. Daisy was going to find him, yell at him, and kick his ass again if need be.

Luckily for Daisy, J.A.R.V.I.S, while part of the house, was also very much not. She managed to pull him up despite the ruins and scan local satellites. No one saw him for hours, but by the time the sun rose Google had picked him up sitting in a donut only a few miles away.

Fuming, Daisy made her way down to the garage hoping they hadn't destroyed every car. Along the way she caught sight of the remaining suits, and, curious, went over. Perhaps Tony had made it so anyone could access them?

Nope, a few buttons pressed and the message was very clear to Daisy. Tony made it so Rhodey could get the suits, but not Daisy. He would never, ever allow Daisy to be in a suit.

She tried to not let it bother her as she hoped into one of the cars and drove off, but it was difficult. She was so freaking pissed at Tony she couldn't even believe it. He promised he was working on a way to save himself, but he really wasn't. No, the night before proved that Tony was just trying to speed up his death, or something equally stupid.

When Daisy arrived, Tony was still sitting up in the donut, and Nick Fury was standing at the bottom yelling. Knowing she'll just be sent away if discovered, Daisy carefully made her way into the shop, throwing up her hood, ducking behind the counter an agent was walking away from checking, and angling her laptop to see the table they'd likely sit down at. (Fury was a spy. He'd want to be somewhere he could see everyone in the room, even with one eye, he could see outside and escape quickly. There was only one booth that fit that requirement.)

When Fury and Tony wandered inside, Daisy sat still. If either of them saw her she would be in so much trouble it wasn't funny. Much to her surprise though they didn't notice her and just began talking. Tony of course was his usual self, but Fury kept him mainly focused.

"We secured the perimeter, the place is empty except for us and Daisy."

Daisy wanted to slam her head against a wall when Natalie appeared. Instead, she accidentally slammed it a bit against the counter as she stood up an awkward smile on her face. "You're good," she told Natalie suspecting that wasn't really her name. "Even Director Fury didn't know I was there."

"Oh yes I did," the man cried, but Daisy knew it was bullshit. Natalie found her, but she'd gotten past the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Maybe he was distracted, but she still did. It was a nice feeling. "Agent Romanoff please escort Miss Stark home before you return to Stark Industries."

Daisy was slightly terrified of Natalia/whatever her real name was, and prepared to go until the woman spoke up. "Actually sir, I think it will be better if Daisy is in on this. She's as brilliant as her father, and more reliable."

Apparently Fury trusted her judgment, because he nodded. "Very well, you may stay. It seems Natasha has taken a liking to your daughter, Stark, you might want to be careful."

"Oh, here," Natalie who apparent was Natasha said jamming something into Tony's neck. Daisy reacted by grabbing the woman's arm, but a look and Daisy let go. "It counteracts the symptoms, but not the problem. Still, it will help you think straight."

"What is he thinking straight to do?" Daisy asked relieved to see the marks disappearing even if the problem wasn't gone. "If you know so much, what do you need?"

"That arc reactor in your chest isn't complete. You need to find a way to replace the palladium otherwise, he's going to die."


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

When they got back to the house, Fury took Tony off somewhere, and Natasha urged Daisy to follow her. "Fury is going to give one of his priceless pep talks, but I need you," she said leading Daisy towards the basement. Daisy wasn't sure what the woman needed her for, but followed willingly until they stopped before the other Iron Man suits. "I've heard you ask Tony for a suit. Why do you want one so badly?"

Daisy looked at the shining balls of metal before her, and wished for the millionth time that Tony picked her not Rhodey to be able to access them. "The suits give him the chance to be a hero, to make a difference. I don't know many people who wouldn't want that opportunity."

Natasha laughed, "You believe in humanity too much. Most people who want this suit want it for its power, not to pull kittens from trees."

"Maybe," Daisy replied with a shrug, mindlessly hacking into the panel so she could at least touch the suits like she did almost daily. "And I guess as a hero I'd be protecting those people, but I'd also be protecting those people who don't want power for any reason; they just want to live their lives."

If Natasha was surprised that Daisy could pull down the panel behind which the suits were stores, she didn't say anything. "If you can get to them, study them, how come you've never just forgone what he said and built yourself one?"

Daisy realized it probably wasn't a good idea to give a S.H.I.E.L.D spy full access to the suits, and locked them up again. "Now what kind of hero would I be if I stole the technology to get myself started?"

Natasha left after that, and Daisy was locked in the house with an exasperated Tony. Despite her only being here to help, Tony sent her away after a single look because he 'thought better when alone'. Since Daisy didn't doubt that, she disappeared to her room where she ran simulations to ensure that every isotope of every element had been tested. She knew they had been, but at least she wasn't doing nothing. She was so sick of doing nothing.

"Daisy," Agent Coulson burst into her room looking around frantically. "Where is your father?"

How was she supposed to know? She was in her room and Coulson was the one supposed to be keeping him under house arrest. "If he's not here he's gone to Pepper's office, I guarantee it."

"I'll call Natasha and have her collect him," Coulson groaned, but Daisy snatched up his phone.

"Wait a while," Daisy suggested knowing her father. "Pepper is going to rag on him, and then he'll be motivated to figure this out to help her, not to save his own life."

Coulson grabbed back the phone, but didn't make the call. "Do all geniuses have these suicidal tendencies?"

If Daisy was going to answer honestly she would have said yes, but instead she just smiled. After all, she was included in that genius category and didn't necessarily want to admit to her own lacking sense of self preservation.

Tony of course came back soon, and went into a frenzy. Apparently he was convinced his father's model of the Stark Expo was actually a new viable element.

In typical fashion he was right.

Daisy got every single question correct on her AP Chemistry exam, but she had no idea how to help Tony as he worked on building a machine to create this new atom. However she is remarkably good at following directions, and moves everything ever so slightly.

"I've come to tell you I've been reassigned," Coulson called out while Daisy attempted to find something to level out the machine. "Director Fury wants me In New Mexico Pronto."

"Have fun," Daisy replied before noticing the agent eyeing the model Captain America shield. "You're a fan I take it?"

"I have a full set of vintage cards, minus one from '49," Coulson admitted picking up the shield. Tony didn't seem to be paying much attention, but when he saw the emblem of WWII America, he snatched it up and leveled out the machine.

"He has no sense of reverence," Daisy told Coulson, and the man left laughing. Once he was gone, Daisy studied her dad's work slightly glad she wasn't as brilliant as him. "So you sure this will work?"

"Nope," Tony replied before turning it on. Daisy watched anxiously, but finally J.A.R.V.I.S acknowledged their success. "Let's see, what should we call it?"

Daisy thought for a moment, surprised he hadn't already decided on Tonyonium. (Because as funny a name as that was, it would be a bit egotistical. ) "How about Polystark," Daisy suggested after a moment. "Because it was created by many Starks."

"Three generations," Tony mused taking out the core and plugging it into the reactor for tests. Daisy breathed a sigh of relief when it seemed to be working; he really wasn't going to die after all. "That's not bad is it?"

No, three generations of geniuses working together to create a new element that would change the world was certainly not bad at all. "So, do you think Fury knew this was the answer all along?"

"I think Nick Fury likes games, and we're just one of them," Tony admitted right as the phone rang. The two Starks grinned at communications being back online, but only until Vanko, not Coulson, spoke. "Trace this," he mouthed to Daisy, but she was already on it.

Daisy's fingers flew as Tony tried to keep the man occupied. J.A.R.V.I.S had a pretty good call tracing software, but nothing, not even the AI could beat Daisy. If Tony could just hold out a few more seconds…

The call clicked out just as the tracer zoomed in on Hammer Tech. That little dickwad was harboring a psycho murderer.

"Hammer's at the expo, I bet he's going to pull something there," Tony realized plugging in the arc reactor before the diagnostics were finished. Daisy stared in terror as he began to glow like a frigging star, but it died down and he actually looked okay. "Good, good, that didn't kill me. I'm going to go after Hammer, you get Happy, call Agent Romanoff, and get Vanko."

Daisy was surprised that he was actually giving her permission to go, but she didn't say anything that might make him change his mind. "Be careful, okay Dad? Vanko is almost as smart as us and if he's built something for Hammer there's no telling what it can do."

"Hey, I promised you I wouldn't die, okay?" Tony reminded kissing the temple of her head quickly. "You do the same."

Daisy nodded, and was already dialing Natasha's number before Iron Man even took to the skies.

Natasha met them at Hammer Tech, and didn't even care about the 16 year old storming into the dangerous building. Daisy appreciated that greatly, and even more when one of the S.H.I.E.L.D agents handed her a tranq gun. She'd never shot a gun before of course, but it was nice to feel protected and know she wasn't going to kill someone at the same time.

Daisy quickly discovered she really didn't have to fight anyone at all because Natasha was a freaking warrior goddess. The woman took down dozens of assailants at once without breaking a sweat, and the other S.H.I.E.L.D agents acted like this was an off day for her. Daisy would give just about anything to fight like that, and yet the darkness in Natasha's eyes hinted that perhaps the one thing Daisy wasn't willing to give up was the one thing that Natasha had.

She killed Ivan Vanko.

Daisy didn't blame her for it. The moment they got to the main room Vanko, in a half assembled giant suit, turned on them. If Natasha hadn't put the bullet straight through his head then they all would have died. Still, it was Daisy, not the dying man, who screamed. She'd never seen a man crumple before her. She'd never seen a corpse emptying of all life. She'd never seen someone die, and she would never un-see it either.

"Daisy, snap out of it," Natasha approached the shocked teen with no caution, and Daisy was grateful for it. If the spy had treated her like a breakable doll she would have become one. By treating Daisy like a person in control, that was what Daisy became. "Vanko already set dozens of drones on those at the expo, and Colonel Rhodes is in an out-of control Iron Man suit. Now I can shut them down, but not as fast as you, not before people get hurt. Okay?"

Daisy nodded, and didn't look at the dead body as she jumped over to it. Settling down at the computer, Daisy quickly gave Rhodey back control of his suit, and shut down the drones. The self destruct in the drones was a bit harder to control, but she had 30 seconds, and it wasn't that hard. "Vanko never expected anyone to even get to this computer," Daisy concluded with a shrug. "He didn't exactly hide the controls."

"No," Natasha countered a sly smile on her face. "I think you're just that good."


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

"I can't believe they don't want me to be an Avenger!"

Daisy was sitting in their still-destroyed living room, reading over her Valedictorian speech one more time. She figured everyone graduating with her hated her because she wasn't even supposed to be part of their class, but they still expected a hell of a good speech. After all Tony was one of the most requested speakers before becoming Iron Man; his daughter had to be half decent.

"I take it your meeting with Fury didn't go well," Daisy chuckled deciding the speech was fine and if it wasn't she didn't actually care. "What did he say?"

Tony poured himself a glass of vodka before sitting down on the broken couch. "Agent Romanoff did a personality profile of me. She recommended Iron Man for the Avengers."

"Then why did you just say…"

"But thinks there needs to be someone else in the suit," Tony finished cutting Daisy off. "Apparently I'm too volatile and bad at being part of a team for them."

Daisy realized why this would sting so harshly after the last week. In the Senate Tony said he and Iron Man were one because that was how he saw it. Time and time again though people were suggesting that it was just a suit Tony wore and that anyone could get inside and be Iron Man. In a way Daisy understood their logical, but she saw the flaw. The suit could be worn by someone else, but they wouldn't be Iron Man. It was Tony's brilliance in addition to the suit that made him such a great hero. Hell, it was his arrogant cheek in addition to the suit that made him such a great hero. They couldn't just take the man out of Iron Man and expect it to work.

"Well it's a good thing you said before that you didn't even want to be part of Fury's super secret superhero team."

"It's not even a team!" Tony grumbled, obviously forgetting that he didn't want to be a part of the Avengers now that he couldn't be. "I mean name one other living superhero?"

"Natasha Romanoff."

That stopped Tony in his tracks. "She's not a superhero, she is just well trained."

Maybe, Daisy didn't know for sure and it was surely possible, but she doubted it. There was just something about Natasha that screamed 'super soldier'. Maybe she was just well trained, but Daisy had a feeling the woman had been enhanced at some point. "Well what about that giant green guy who broke New York City?"

"Not a hero."

Daisy couldn't exactly argue that. But then again someone could argue Tony wasn't really a hero either. "Fury said there are others who have just been smart enough to keep off the radar. I bet when the time comes for the Avengers to form there will be plenty of superheroes for the team even if there isn't Iron Man. And when they start losing they'll come begging for your help."

"And I'll say no, because you're right, I don't want to be a part of their stupid team."

Daisy rolled her eyes and laughed; some things would never change.

"We live in a world of heroes," Daisy began looking at the press who'd conveniently decided to cover her school graduation for absolutely no reason pertaining to Daisy Stark. "Back in the 40's we had Captain America. Now we have Iron Man, or so they tell me, last I checked heroes were actually cool." Everyone laughed at the joke, especially Rhodey and Pepper in the front row. "But they're not the only heroes out there. Superheroes are cool and all, but there aren't enough of them to change the world, and certainly not alone."

"Not everyone is my dad, count yourselves lucky for that, but every one of us can be a hero. You can be the pilot who flies across a war zone to deliver medical supplies. Or you can be the doctor administering those medical supplies in Africa. Yet you're also a hero if you're a house wife, dedicating your every day to raising another being to be a hero themselves. You're a hero when you're a teacher, dealing with unruly teenagers and staying up every night answering emails about trigonometry."

"Perhaps we can't all be superheroes. We can't all have suits that let us fly, or the strength to lift a car, but we can all be heroes. A person is a hero when he, or she, decides that there is something more important than themselves, and fights for that thing. A person is a hero when they inspire others to do the same. So as we graduate and head towards life I challenge each and every one of you to be a hero, even if it's just by being the person you needed when you were younger. Thank you, and good luck. Being a hero is never easy, but it is always right."

"Isn't a speech about being a hero a bit overdone?"

Daisy, somehow, was not surprised that Natasha Romanoff was at her graduation. From the number of hugs and handshakes Daisy had it seemed everyone who ever met her was at her graduation. "Oh most definitely. I actually had one written before that was more focused on 'being who you needed when you were younger' but after last week I just couldn't do it. I guess I hope that hearing talk of heroes will mean a little bit more coming from me."

"It does," Natasha replied clearly meaning it. (Or well Daisy thought she meant it. Natasha could probably lie to God and He wouldn't know. She just seemed to be that type.) "So I take it your father didn't even give you a suit for graduation?"

Daisy laughed at the sheer idea. "Something tells me Iron Girl is never going to happen. I think I'm going to have to build a new suit… maybe something with wings. I could be like Hawkgirl or something."

Natasha seemed to think the idea of hawk-anything was hilarious, but she didn't laugh long. "Or you could be a different kind of hero."

"I'm not the teacher type, sorry."

"I was thinking more of the S.H.I.E.L.D Agent kind of hero," Natasha admitted and Daisy rubbed her ears thinking they must be damaged. "I'm not kidding. S.H.I.E.L.D isn't all spies in suits, we have a communications division focused on exactly those things you're the best at. You'd have to go to the Academy of course…"

"Wait, S.H.I.E.L.D has its own school?"

Natasha grinned, clearly glad Daisy was interested. It seemed the woman had a particular interest in seeing Daisy become a S.H.I.E.L.D agent, and that felt wonderful. "Of course, it's a multi year program dedicated to preparing you for life in a much weirder world, but since you've lived in that world for a while, I bet you'll do it in three. Usually you need at least one PhD to be admitted, but Fury is willing to wave that if you're willing to do a trial consultation for us down in New Mexico. He said you won't even have to tell your dad about it until you pass the trial."

"Wait, you mean like right now?" Daisy's mind was spinning. They wanted her to join S.H.I.E.L.D? They wanted her to go to New Mexico right now to see if she could make it at this school? Had Natasha completely lost her mind? "Does this have to do with Coulson?"

The agent nodded, "Agent Coulson has some computers with heavy encryption on them, and a few programs that are, as he put it, 'out of this world'. It's simple stuff, nothing compared to what I saw you do at Hammer Tech. You go, you do it, and you can go to the Academy starting in September."

"And I don't have to fight with my dad about this until after I get back from New Mexico?"

"I have a cover already prepared and a helicopter waiting for you if you're up for it. So, what do you say do you want to become an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D?"

Daisy looked back at her father. He and Pepper were talking excitedly, and it appeared Pepper was actually trying to talk Tony out of something. She could go over to them, forget Natasha's offer. Maybe Tony would finally build Daisy a suit, or she'd make her own. She'd become a household name more than she already was, and everyone would love her.

Or she could go with Natasha, hack computers for S.H.I.E.L.D, and make a difference without anyone ever knowing about it.

"I have a change of clothes in my car. All black is good, right?"


	24. Chapter 24

Now, Thor has a lovely transcript available online which is incredibly helpful if you want Thor's point of view. I don't, so I'm not using it much. If something is wrong therefore I am sorry. Tell me and I'll see if it can be fixed. If it can't, well I don't care that much.

* * *

Chapter 24

Natasha didn't end up going with Daisy to New Mexico, so when the helicopter landed Daisy was alone and unsure. She figured finding Coulson was probably her best bet, and considering the helicopter took her inside the perimeter of some sort of temporary base, the best way to find him was probably to walk in.

"You shouldn't be here kid."

Daisy turned, relieved to see someone. She suspected there were scientists all about, studying whatever this base had sprung up around, but Daisy had been wandering around for ten minutes trying to find Coulson. "Sorry, not sure where here is… um have you seen Agent Coulson?"

The man slung his bow across his back, but still looked at Daisy wearily. He must have figured that even without his bow he could take her down in a fight, and if he fought anything like Natasha, Daisy was sure he could. "How do you know Coulson?"

"It's a long story," Daisy sighed not wanting to get into it. "Look, can you please help me? Natasha said just get on the helicopter and get off when it lands. I think it's probably part of the test, but I honestly have no idea what to do. So do you know where Coulson is?"

"Oh," the man sighed smiling slightly. "You could have just started with your name, I knew I recognized you from somewhere. You're Daisy, right?" She nodded. Finally they were getting somewhere. "I heard that they were calling you down. I'm Agent Clint Barton, Nat may have mentioned me."

Daisy nodded, "She told me, and I have no idea why mind you, but she's scary so I'm going to do as she asks." Clint laughed at that, and Daisy took that as encouragement to carry on. "She told me to tell you that I thought 'hawkgirl' was a good name for a superhero."

Clint scowled and ranted as he led her down the halls. "Why must every code name identify the gender? Oh I'm hawkguy and I'm so cool. Oh it's ridiculous. I am not a hawk, my eyes are a hawk, so I'm Hawkeye. Does she see me criticizing her name? No! But it's 'Hawkguy this" and "Hawkguy" that. It's infuriating."

"In the future, if Romanoff tells you to tell someone something, don't," Coulson, who must have heard the end of the rant as they entered the main area, advised Daisy. "Especially if you're telling it to Barton."

Daisy couldn't help but smile, that was her first lesson as a spy. "Duly noted. So where are these computers you need hacking?"

Coulson gave her an odd look. "Who told you there were any computers needing hacking?"

"Natasha, she said that was why I was here."

"I thought you were here to design a program to figure out how to lift this hammer."

Now that he mentioned it, Daisy realized the whole base was centered around some hammer that all the scientists were studying. "I mean I can do that, probably, but Natasha didn't mention it."

"Well do that then," Coulson suggested with a shrug and a concerned look on his face. "I'll ask Fury what he's up to later, for now I have to go and talk with our little intruder from last night."

Daisy didn't even ask what that was about, but instead set down on the computer compiling the data into a program that would hopefully explain how to move the hammer.

"So, you're Tony Stark's daughter," Clint, who apparently didn't have anything better to do, mused. "Does he ever let you into the suit?"

Why did people seem to think he would? "Nope." She probably should be quiet, mild mannered, it was a test to see if she could be an agent after all, but Daisy couldn't resist. "So your superhero name is Hawkeye? Let me guess, your eyesight is really good?"

"Hey, it's no less obvious than Iron Man."

Daisy laughed at the validity of his statement; her dad was never one for subtlety. "No, it's cool, you're the first person I've met with actual superpowers. Dad just has his suit and Natasha is just naturally scary."

"It's not natural," Clint admitted. Daisy's fingers kept typing, but she was listening far more intently after that. "She doesn't have powers, as far as I know, but she's molded. She's just a ballerina at heart."

Daisy could see Natasha doing Russian ballet, but ballet dancers weren't weak and fragile. No, they were strong, dedicated, and used to pain. "You know her pretty well?"

"As well as anyone," he admitted, sounding resigned to the enigma of Natasha Romanoff. "Better than anyone I guess. I was the first person to offer her a place at S.H.I.E.L.D. For better or worse everyone has a special bond with the one who recruited them."

Clint recruited Natasha, and Natasha recruited Daisy. That was most certainly not lost on the girl. "Who's this intruder Coulson was talking about?"

"Some guy who thought he could pick up the hammer. I actually thought he was going to do it but no luck. No one is worthy to lift the hammer."

Worthy… "Why did you use that word?"

"Oh, it's inscribed on the hammer in Nordic runes or whatever. That's what one of the linguists said at least, I know a lot of languages, but I'm not a Viking."

"So it's like the legends of Thor," Daisy noted thinking of a story she'd heard as a child. "Only he could lift the hammer because only he was worthy."

Clint laughed at the thought, and Daisy admitted it was kind of ridiculous. "So we have the Norse god of Thunder locked up, good to know."

"Well obviously he's not Thor," Daisy reminded with a grin. She liked Clint. "He couldn't lift the hammer remember. I'm just saying my dad flies around in a metal suit; gods aren't that big of a stretch."

"Daisy," Coulson called from around the corner. "I want you to come and talk to him. He looks like the guy who can't resist a pretty face."

Daisy sighed, set up the program run itself, and stood. "Duty calls."


	25. Chapter 25

If you want to know my plan for relationships see the note at the end.

* * *

Chapter 25

"Hey," Daisy chimed, entering the room, and startling the man. "Who were you talking to, the voices in your head?"

The man looked at Daisy, probably wondering why someone as young as her was here. Daisy found herself ogling the specimen of a man. She'd joked with Clint that he was Thor but honestly this man did look like a god. "Who are you, where is the son of Coul?"

She wondered if she should be giving a fake name, but realized Coulson must have given his own. "You mean Coulson? He left to do something, I don't know he told me to come in and talk to you. I'm Daisy… why do you look upset?"

"I just received news of my father's passing." Even the man seemed surprised to have answered Daisy's question, and he looked at her curiously.

"I'm sorry," Daisy replied, and she truly meant it. A few days ago she thought her own dad was going to die, and who knew what she would have done if he had. "Was your pain over that why you broke in to steal the hammer?"

The man shook his beautiful blond locks. "No, I did not know at the time. I came to claim the hammer as it is my property."

"Your property that you can't even lift."

"I can lift it!" the man cried slamming his hand against the table. Daisy heard shuffling outside, but prayed they didn't try to come and save her. She was fine… he wasn't mad at her. "It is mine, I should be able to lift her."

Daisy scanned her mind for the stories, and came across a name. "Lift her, you mean Mjolnir? That's her name right? And you're Thor?" It was a big leap, but Daisy just had a feeling she was right. The man looked shocked as well. "I'm smart, but am I right?"

"Yes, how do you know of me?"

"The Vikings believed you to be a god," Daisy answered with a shrug as she stood. "I've read their legends. But why can't you lift the hammer? All the stories say she is yours."

"Thor" looked like he was completely reassessing Daisy. "I remember the Viking people, Loki and I used to play tricks on them when we were young."

Loki, Daisy remembered him. Or well she remembered that he had a horse for a child and was its mother. "So all the stories are true? You're really the god Thor?"

"Your people call me god, but where I am from all people possess such powers."

Daisy smiled and nodded, "Asgard you mean? Why are you here, on Midgard?" She was wicked impressed with how much she remembered from a stupid book she read as a kid. "Does it have something to do with why you can't lift the hammer?"

'Thor' didn't get a chance to answer though, because Coulson opened the door. "Daisy, what the Hell are you doing in here?" he cried. She sat confused for a second, but figured it was in her best interest to just go with it.

"It was nice meeting you, even if it means my dad is going to kill me," Daisy told the man with a smile that didn't disappear until he was out of sight. "Well he's batty."

"I was starting to think you believed him," Coulson seemed relieved to know she hadn't gone insane. "Do you actually think he believes that crap?"

He could just be a spy. Natasha was a pretty damn good liar. And yet Daisy's instincts told him that whether or not it was true he believed it to be true. "Truth doesn't matter I don't think you're getting any other story from him."

"Luckily he has a friend here who might be able to help," Coulson sighed and Daisy felt bad for him. He went from babysitting her father to this; the poor guy. "You and I are going to follow him, you know a nice Father-daughter outing."

So Coulson approved of her spur-of-the-moment lie. Good, that meant she was a natural at it. "Sure Pops, whatever you say."

Clint stood a little ways away, holding back a laugh, and Daisy flashed him an amused smile. She liked these Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. They certainly weren't the devil's creation her dad liked to think of them as.

Daisy and Coulson followed Selvig and 'Thor' to a bar, but found them doing nothing more interesting than taking shots. Oh sure, he carried on telling the man he was Thor and everything, but no other story presented itself. The undercover Op revealed absolutely nothing.

Except how funny Coulson could be. "So you're telling me that you and a bunch of genius future spies just thought that your professors, who was a spy, wouldn't notice his grading sheet suddenly had pink ink?"

"Give it five years and then tell me you and your friends never did anything stupid at the Academy," Coulson grinned sipping from his straw eloquently.

Daisy sighed, and took another bite of her burger. "That's if I get to go."

"This is just a formality," Coulson promised even though he was as confused as she was. Coms cadets didn't need PhDs usually, only Sci-tech. It was odd that they'd told Daisy otherwise. "I'm the one signing off on you, and if I thought it was a bad idea I would have told Fury so from the beginning."

Daisy couldn't help but wonder how long they'd been talking about this. The events of the last week went by so fast, surely it had been during that time, right? But what had she done to prove herself to Coulson? Sure, she'd shown Natasha her exceptional computer skills, but Coulson was gone by that point. As far as Daisy remembered Coulson had only seen her 'cowering and helpless' phase, and yet he believed in her. It was odd.

"Honestly it's my dad I'm worried about more than anything," Daisy answered with a sigh. Perhaps it was a bad idea to be confiding in her kinda-sorta boss, but she liked Coulson. She had since they first met. "I don't even know where he thinks I am right now, but I know he's going to be pissed when I tell him the truth. He'll forbid me from going, and I'm pretty sure Fury would rather not have me as an Agent than lose the good will between S.H.I.E.L.D and Iron Man."

Coulson didn't object to the last point, but he seemed concerned by her negativity. "Why would he forbid you? What's wrong with S.H.I.E.L.D?"

"He just doesn't like it I guess… And Fury mentioned Howard having a role in its creation which should have helped but clearly didn't because my dad doesn't really like his dad and…" She shook her head. They were on a mission; she didn't need to ramble. "Whatever it doesn't matter. I'm just going to enjoy the one Op I'm getting and resign myself to begging my dad for a chance to save the world."

"You'll have your chance," Coulson promised. He could see the hero in Daisy; she just needed to see it herself. "If I know anything I know that."

"And I know our target is leaving the bar very drunk," Daisy smiled nodding her head towards the door. "So we should probably follow."

Coulson however didn't move. "I doubt we're going to get anything better following them. Let's get back to the base and get some sleep… before you do so I want you to pull all the old Viking drawings of Thor and compare them to ours."

"I thought you thought it was a crazy impossibility."

"Most definitely," Coulson smiled paying the bill. (Daisy wanted to object that she had way more money, but didn't want to insult him.) "But like you said to Barton, your dad flies around in a metal suit. The crazy impossibilities are what this job is founded on. So run the faces, no harm can come from it."

No, no harm could come from it, and if just maybe it was true… well Daisy couldn't imagine what that might mean.

* * *

Okay, so notes on relationships because people won't stop asking. There are spoilers here, so read at your own risk. I'm just very tired of people obsessing over her getting love. I want her to have love too but Daisy is different. She doesn't really get along with people her own age and therefore does not have any love interests at her age. She won't be getting a love interest until about chapter 50. I'm sorry if that bothers you but the way I'm writing Daisy it would be silly for her to have something else. She's not really interacting with peers, and doesn't have a chance to meet anyone. Now, once she's actually working as a Shield agent things will pick up. Her and Steve have a thing, but they live different lives and it's hard to keep up. Then there is of course Ward, but, well, he was Hydra long before Daisy ever could meet him. There's Lincoln, but Daisy can certainly do better than Mr. Pouty-Pout. (Why is he so pessimistic this season?) Someone suggested Pietro... I have a very good idea how that could work and like the idea. But i haven't written it yet, so I don't know.

To be perfectly honest I don't care too much who Daisy is with. This fic focuses on Daisy's relationship with Tony as her dad and how, even when he's not around, he affects the course of her life. When relationships fit in with the plot, then I have them, but life, even for fictional characters, can get in the way of good, healthy relationships, so they die out.

I hope this is an answer that satisfies you. I know I'll always be messing with someone's ship, but I'm doing the best I can. If this bothers you feel free to stop reading, I don't care, I'll still write for everyone who stays, even if it's one person.


	26. Chapter 26

It's a short chapter but I'll give you another short one later so that makes up for it, right?

* * *

Chapter 26

Some of the images looked enough like their guy that Daisy could imagine it, but many didn't. The problem was that the Vikings couldn't seem to agree on what Thor looked like, so their images weren't much help.

Still it didn't really matter that much the next morning, because some proof is irrefutable. When a giant rainbow bridge showed up in the sky and four super-strong warriors came through town looking for Thor the impossible was suddenly the norm.

"I think I'm adding Daisy to the list of people whose instinct I trust," Clint muttered as they tried to catch up with the warriors. "But gods? How can those be real?"

Daisy shrugged struggling to keep up with the surprisingly long legged agents. "Primitive people considered anything out of their understanding magical. It's possible they're just powered people the Vikings thought were gods."

"But that was thousands of years ago, how are they still alive if they're not immortal?"

Daisy didn't have an answer for that one. Powers could do a lot, but make you live thousands of years? That was a bit of a stretch, even for Daisy's broad mind.

"Daisy," Clint turned to the girl. "Your father doesn't happen to have a giant metal suit even bigger than Iron Man that spits fire and has 'bendy metal'?"

She had absolutely no idea what Clint was talking about, but that was answer enough. "If you have a giant armored suit and it doesn't look like Iron Man than it's not my dad unless he's been really bored in the day I've been gone." She looked towards where the rainbow hit and while she couldn't see like Clint could, Daisy suspected that was where the problem was. "Is that Coulson? Tell him I can probably shut the robot down if I can get close enough."

Clint, apparently deeming it necessary, hijacked the closest car, and drove them back towards the site. "How do you plan on doing that unless it's connected to some computer?"

"This little box," Daisy admitted pulling off the pendant she'd been wearing the whole time. "My dad gave it to me after what happened. Basically it hacks into any suit and uploads the control into J.A.R.V.I.S's mainframe. I can take it from there."

"But what if this stuff was really designed by gods? Then it would be magic."

Daisy didn't believe in magic. Daisy believed in science not yet understood by mankind. "I can do it. I just have to get close enough to plant it."

The end up having to turn around again because the Destroyer is fast, and by the time they show up half the town was destroyed. (Hence the robot's name). Daisy didn't stop to consider how untrained she was, how young she was or how dead she could be. The moment she had the robot in sight, Daisy flung herself from the car, rolled, and joined in. Thor and his friends seemed to be doing a better job of fighting it than the very human S.H.I.E.L.D agents, but even they were struggling. It was a good distraction though, and when the destroyer pinned Thor to the ground Daisy managed to get the chip on. Immediately she pulled out her phone and turned the suit off, and it was dormant even before the frigging hammer blew right through it.

"You saved my life, flower of Midgard." Daisy found herself blushing at the name. It was so ridiculous it was cute. "I am in your debt."

She had a god in her debt, now that was cool. "You looked like you were going to take care of it yourself just fine," Daisy smiled back at the literal god. "But tell me, is Asgard actually a different realm or like a different planet. Are you just an alien?"

Thor smiled, but he didn't reply. Instead he turned to Coulson. "Son of Coul, you and I fight for the same cause, the protection of this world. From this day forward, count me as your ally… if you return the items you stole from Jane Foster."

Coulson promised he would, right before Thor pulled Jane in for a tight kiss. "I shall see you again Jane, Son of Coul, Flower of Midgard. For now I must return to my own home to save my own people."

Daisy stood in awe as the rainbow appeared again taking the Asgardians with it. Once they were gone though, she kicked the broken Destroyer. "I'm going with aliens. Which means this is alien tech and property of S.H.I.E.L.D, not something I'm going to have to tell my father about."

"You can tell him," Coulson promised looking at the mess around him and sighing. "After you tell him you're to attend the S.H.I.E.L.D Academy no matter what. Iron Man is good, but you are more valuable to S.H.I.E.L.D. I'm sure of it."

Daisy blushed, but covered it well. "Whatever you say, AC. Now we should probably start cleaning up. I'll start deleting video footage if you take care of the giant robot body?"

"That sounds like a plan to me."


	27. Chapter 27

I promised a second update after all. So here it is. I promised myself I wouldn't post it until I got all my work done. I gave up on my precalc project after hour 4. I have until Monday and am 2/5th done, so I'm not in terrible shape. That only makes it like a 16 hour project. (Don't do math kids.) Anyway, enough of my rambling, you all want to see Tony's reaction. Hope you like it, if it wasn't what you expected.

* * *

Chapter 27

It didn't take long to wipe every trace of Thor off the internet, so Daisy was home by that night. It had definitely been the weirdest two days of her life, but Daisy knew she couldn't just go to sleep. Nope, she had to explain to Tony about the Academy, and probably get disowned.

"Welcome home Daisy," J.A.R.V.I.S greeted as she walked through the door. "Your father wishes to see you immediately in his workshop. I will warn you he is displeased by this impromptu road trip." So that was what Natasha had told him she was up to. Great, no wonder he was mad. Knowing that procrastination would get her in even more trouble, Daisy pulled on her big girl panties and went to face the music.

The music, apparently, was Ac/Dc's 'Highway to Hell', and Daisy found it awfully fitting. She felt like she was walking to Hell as she went to make her father hate her.

He was working on his suit, of course, and didn't speak at first. Daisy watched him thinking of all the times she'd just sat there, watching him tinker. She already felt different from the girl who'd done that. She already felt older. "I didn't go on a road trip, or whatever they told you."

Tony didn't look up, but just spoke as he worked. "I figured when it was Agent Romanoff telling me. She can only get so many lies past me in the span of a week." Daisy suspected Natasha could have made him believe if she wanted to, but that Nat knew it wouldn't really be much help at all.

"I was in New Mexico… with Agent Coulson. They asked me to go down and help with a situation… apparently there are aliens, who the Vikings regarded as gods…"

"Fun."

"Yeah…"

"Why you?" It was a fair question for Tony to ask. If they had an issue with aliens shouldn't they have called Iron Man before his daughter? It would have made sense.

"They offered me a place at the S.H.I.E.L.D Academy if I went." There she said it. The words were out there and they weren't coming back. "So I did." Tony nodded still not looking at his daughter. "So are you going to yell at me? Tell me I can't go? What?" It wasn't like her dad to hold his tongue with anything, especially not something like this.

Tony finally put down whatever he was working on and faced his daughter. "Would you like me to yell at you and say you can't go?" Daisy shook her head; of course she didn't want to be yelled at. "Fine then, I won't."

Daisy couldn't believe her ears. "What?"

"Look, I'd make you hate me if I thought it would stop you from going, but it won't. At least if we're still talking I might be able to protect you. I'm not going to lose you over something that you will never change your mind on. Agent mentioned the Academy to Pepper, she thought that was where you'd gone. I wanted to kill you at first, but then I realized that my father trying to make me him was what I hated the most. I won't be my father. If I can't be better I can at least try not to make his same mistakes. I'm not going to tell you to go to the Academy. This is me right now begging you not to. Nothing I say though will stop you, you get that from me, and I'm not going to just let you think you're not accountable to anyone, because you'll always be accountable to me."

Daisy physically rubbed her ears to make sure she'd heard him right. He was giving her permission? Well, not permission per say but not forbidding it?

"You will never change your mind, right? I didn't just accidentally talk you into something you weren't sure about?"

He knew his daughter well. "No, I am so tired of sitting back and watching you and the world be threatened. I could do something about it as a S.H.I.E.L.D agent. Coulson saved Pepper and my lives back in September! Hell, them pushing you is the only reason the Palladium in your chest hasn't killed you already! S.H.I.E.L.D is full of good people who just want to protect the world. I want to help them."

"Would giving you a suit stop you?"

Daisy thought about that one for a second. He was being entirely theoretical of course, she doubted that he'd agree even if she said yes, but still. She could go be Iron Girl, save people like that.

And yet the world already had Iron Man. It already had someone flying around in a metal suit scaring people enough that they didn't cause trouble. The world didn't need Daisy to do that.

The world needed Daisy to track down aliens like Thor and make sure their existence didn't cause mass panic. The world needed Daisy to make people trust her and tell the truth, even when it's a truth so ridiculous no one believes it. The world needs Daisy, whose seen enough to know anything is possible, to be fighting that anything that came. "Iron Girl is cool and all, but I think I like Agent Stark better."

"I figured," Tony sighed before handing her another pendant like the one she'd just used on the destroyer. Daisy stared at him, and he broke out into a grin. "It connects the robot to J.A.R.V.I.S's mainframe, remember. You're not the only one who sees that, remember."

How could she possibly forget? As much as she was branching out from her father's legacy, theirs would always be intertwined. That wasn't a bad thing though. She suspected that it wouldn't always be a helpful name to have, but Daisy was proud to be the Starkling.

* * *

Okay, I'm super nervous I will admit. Originally I had this fic plotted out so Daisy and Tony got in a huge fight, she ran away to go to the Academy anyways and doesn't talk to her dad for three years until the first Avenger's movie. But then I thought about it and realized Tony wouldn't do that, not the way I've been writing him at least. As someone said in a review earlier, Tony is a dick, but he's a protective dick. He would drive Daisy to Mars if it kept her safe, but he thinks she's safer if he knows where she is and can protect her, so he is staying in her good graces.


	28. Chapter 28

Okay, so I've mentioned before how time in MCU makes no sense, right? Well listen to this. Fitzsimmons go to the Academy in 2004, right? And graduated in 2013 because the Bus was their first assignment. That's 8 years they were at the Academy… and they graduated 3 years early. Are you telling me the Academy is an 11 year program? That would make no sense. So, for the sake of the story the Science Academy is a 4 year program, Ops a 2 year program, and Communications a 3 year program with the third year involving an internship. Also, Fitzsimmons do go to the Academy aged 17, but like Daisy the year they were born has been changed to 1992. If sorry if that bother anyone, but I change things for plot purposes.

* * *

Chapter 28

Daisy was eternally grateful that her dad didn't ask to drive her to the Academy or something. Showing up first day with Tony Stark would have brought about too many questions, and the subject of favoritism. No, Daisy didn't want anyone to know who her father was. She was here out of her own merit, not because of who her father was.

Which was why all the final paperwork didn't list her as Daisy Stark, but as Daisy Johnson.

The name was the most obvious choice. She couldn't be a Stark, not if she wanted to be treated normally. And she sure as Hell wasn't going back to Mary Sue Poots. Johnson was the least inconspicuous name she could think of. Smith was too common, and Johnson… she liked it. Plus, it made her think of the Rock, which was amusing.

Beyond the name though, Daisy had made some other changes to keep her identity secret. She'd cut her hair to make her look less like the pictures people might know. She barely recognized herself as the media's Starkling, and hopefully no one else would either.

It felt good, to branch out from her father's control and legacy as someone new. Even when he was presumed dead, Tony had ruled Daisy's life. The need to mourn him had controlled her then, and his legacy controlled her afterwards. She'd been going to his alma mater for Christ's sake. Daisy Stark could never be her own person. She would always be Tony Stark's daughter, much the same way Tony was always "Howard's son". Daisy Johnson was a girl who wasn't close to her workaholic father, and who had lost her mother, and it wasn't a complete lie. The details didn't need to be shared, and Natasha, who'd helped her get registered assured Daisy that unless she told someone, they wouldn't be.

So, confident in her new identity, Daisy Johnson pulled into the S.H.I.E.L.D Communications Academy, and took in the sights. It was a modern looking building, with the typical amount of white modern buildings have, but really nothing special. Anyone who didn't know better would surely believe that it was just some other college, but it wasn't. This was S.H.I.E.L.D, and none of the cadets here were planning on going out and working normal jobs.

Yet the place looked remarkable normal. Second year cadets and professors guided first-years to where they needed to be. Files filled with schedules, handbooks, and dorm assignments were handed out. The place looked so normal it was amazing. The only thing that really made it any different from a normal college's move in day was those moving in.

They varied in age from, as far as Daisy could tell, eighteen to twenty five. It made sense she guessed. You needed to have certain skills before you could go to the Academy. Some people, most actually, didn't get those skills without a PhD in their field, others, like Daisy, had more unconventional methods of learning the material. How and when they learned it didn't matter, only that they had, so the cadets were all different ages. Weird as it was, Daisy kind of liked it. Most of the cadets were older, and she had never gotten along that well with people her age.

"Welcome to S.H.I.E.L.D, Miss Johnson," the professor handing Daisy her file welcomed with a knowing smile and Daisy wondered if perhaps it was only the cadets Coulson had guaranteed wouldn't know her identity. "Your dorm is right around the corner."

Daisy thanked her, and tried to follow the flow of traffic towards where the dorms were. As she studied the map and tried to find room 12, she ended up slamming into someone who looked equally as confused.

"Oh I'm so sorry," he muttered picking up their dropped files and trying to figure out what belonged to who. "I was just trying to find my dorm and I…"

Daisy waved off his words. "I wasn't paying attention either, don't fret it. I'm Daisy." It still felt weird introducing herself as such, but it was kind of exciting in the way dress up is exciting for little kids.

"Cameron Klein, but everyone calls me Cam…" he muttered back, looking surprised that someone, never mind a girl, would be talking to him. Or perhaps he was just off put by her age. She was definitely on the lower end of the spectrum, and Cam had to be at least five years older than her. "So… you must be really smart to have your degree so young…"

Daisy laughed at the idea of even having a degree, "Actually, I never even went to college. I'm smart, but not like everyone else here. I'm just good with computers I guess."

It was a broad understatement and they both knew it. You didn't get into the S.H.I.E.L.D Academy if you were good with computers. You had to be spectacular, and Daisy was. She wasn't about to tell the world the way her dad would, but it was true. Daisy Stark was just as brilliant as Tony Stark, if in a different way.

"Well, um, I better go find my dorm," Cam muttered spinning as if somehow that would help him find things better. "See you around Daisy… um bye."

He practically ran away, and Daisy was left laughing. She hoped everyone here wasn't that socially inept, or it was going to be a long two years at the S.H.I.E.L.D Academy.

Finally, Daisy found dorm 12, and used the fancy finger-print scanner to enter. If she thought her father's security was paranoid, S.H.I.E.L.D was way beyond that. Well, at least she wouldn't be getting shot at any time soon…

A giant textbook hit Daisy's face the minute she stepped into the room.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't expect you to open the door," a girl, presumably Daisy's roommate, apologized. "Your nose doesn't look broken though, so that's good."

Daisy rubbed it and twinged at the pain; just because it wasn't broken didn't mean it didn't hurt. She knew that from every relationship she'd ever experienced. Still, Daisy didn't want to make the wrong impression. "It's fine, I should have knocked."

"It's your room too," the girl sat back on the bed and Daisy studied her. She was older, probably 20 or so, but still young. She had to be a genius to be here so young, but then again, everyone at the Academy was a genius in one way or another. "I'm Delaney Devont."

"Daisy Johnson," she answered carefully refolding her clothes and putting it in the dresser. A few years ago Daisy wouldn't have cared how something was folded, but Pepper could rub off on you. "This place is wicked cool, right?"

Daisy meant the Academy itself, but Delaney seemed to think she meant the stuffy and small dorm because she scoffed. "I think we're all a little old for roommates, well maybe not you, you look like you belong in middle school, but I certainly am."

"I'm 17," Daisy huffed deciding that she didn't really like Delaney all that much. "And I think it's good for us to have to room with people. You don't get private rooms on missions."

Delaney scoffed. "Like you know anything about missions. I bet you hadn't even heard about S.H.I.E.L.D until they turned up at your Robotics fair." Daisy wanted to point out that if she built robots she'd be at sci-tech, but she held her tongue. "My mother is an agent, and so was my grandfather before her. He knows Peggy Carter."

And Daisy knew a god, but was she flaunting that information? (Well, maybe she should just a little.) "For your information, Delaney third-generation S.H.I.E.L.D agent, I've been on a mission, I've had Director Fury in my living room, Natasha Romanoff submitted my recommendation which was later cosigned by Clint Carton and Phil Coulson, all of who I have the phone number for so don't go flaunting your heritage. You're not the only special one here. If you were, I wouldn't be the youngest Coms cadet in history. You would be."

Well that completely shut the bitch down, for now at least. Daisy knew she probably shouldn't have made herself sound so impressive, it would probably backfire soon, but she couldn't help it. She was probably the richest, most privileged kid in the country, if not the world, and she didn't have the same sense of entitlement Delaney seemed too. Daisy knew the pain of this world, and if Delaney didn't hop off her high horse and learn some manners she'd never survive as an agent. An agent has to be able to take pain, and Daisy could. That was the only thing in this whole Academy Daisy was sure she'd succeed at.


	29. Chapter 29

Gatemaster pointed out a few flaws in the way I designed the Academy, so thank her for those changes.

* * *

Chapter 29

The first day of classes was terrifying because Daisy had no idea what to expect. From 9-11 she had Computer Science I, then a break until 1 when she had to be over at the Science and Technology campus for Engineering I. After that she had 15 minutes to make it back to campus for Operations I for non Operation cadets, whatever that meant. Then she had History of Shield, and even an elective block, which somehow had her taking a dancing class. She didn't even want to know how badly that would end.

Daisy was actually slightly confused by her schedule. If she was a Coms cadet why then was she taking classes for the other two academies? Basic operations she got, every agent needed to be able to defend themselves, but why engineering? She wasn't an engineer, her dad was! She liked software! Yet they seemed curious as to if she could do the engineering as well, simply because of her father. It was infuriating! Even here she was being compared to him. She loved him, really, but why did everyone want her to be him so badly? He really wasn't that perfect.

But he wasn't a bad hero, and Daisy had to remind herself of that. S.H.I.E.L.D was about making all their agents into non-powered heroes. If Daisy had a latent engineering ability they'd want to know so she could use it for the betterment of the world. She really couldn't fault them for that.

Still, she would have had more fun in the hacking class it appeared most of the first year Coms cadets were taking. Yet she knew how to hack, probably better than anyone. She really wasn't at the Academy to relearn everything she knew, so it did make sense for her to be learning other stuff.

And she was grateful they hadn't just made her an engineering cadet, because if it didn't work out she could just go back to her Coms stuff with no harm done. Really, as much as it annoyed her, it wasn't that bad of a plan after all.

Daisy was grateful that everyone had coded before that first Computer Science class. The Professor didn't have to explain the basics. Actually, she didn't explain anything at all. "You all have a set of data collected on an object. Using that data design a simulation that shows how the object can be listed. Once you've figure out how to lift the hammer write it down on a piece of paper, put your name on it, and you're free to go."

Many cadets seemed terrified at the prospect. Others, like Delaney, were thoroughly confident in their abilities and set to work immediately coding their program. Only Daisy realized the real point of this test, and then again she had an incredibly unfair advantage. She knew how the story ended. They could code simulations all day trying to figure it out, but in the end they wouldn't be able to. That was the real lesson they wanted every S.H.I.E.L.D agent to learn their first day. That was the lesson Daisy learned over a year ago when her Father returned from Afghanistan with shrapnel closing in on his beating heart. Sometimes there is no answer to a problem, and you have to fight anyways.

Daisy scoured up a piece of paper, and scribbled down her answer. The Professor had to know that Daisy would have a bit of insight into this problem. That Daisy would pass the first test not out of brains but out of experience. Still, if the Professor for some reason didn't know what happened in New Mexico, Daisy's answer wouldn't compromise any classified information.

She was about to get up and hand it in, when someone else stood first. It was a boy, probably 25, and he didn't have anything to hand in. He just walked out of the room, and Daisy knew he was never coming back. Nineteen first year cadets left, and 240 days of classes to go. The odds were not looking good.

There was a bit of grumbling when Daisy handed in her paper, but she didn't stick around long enough to find out. She had the whole morning to herself it seemed, and she had a promise to keep.

"So how's school? Is your roommate nice? Shouldn't you be in class?"

"Everything is fine, Mom," Daisy loved the way Pepper blushed whenever called Mom. The woman knew it was basically true, and that made it all the more fun. "My roommate is a bitch, but I shut her down quickly. So she hates me, but will surely be quiet about it."

Pepper sighed on the other side of the phone. "Aren't you supposed to be making friends?"

Daisy had never really had friends. Not when she was going from foster home to foster home. Not when she was the smartest kid in her High School. And that probably wouldn't change here at the Academy. Daisy didn't care though. Who needed friends when you were studying to change the world? "They just gave us a test to figure out how to lift Thor's Hammer. I had an unfair advantage to say the least, but I'm probably still going to get an A, so the other cadets will hate me soon enough, I'm not going to bother making friends."

"I don't understand why every adult likes you and no one your own age ever does," Pepper really took the mom thing to a whole other level whenever Daisy's social life came up. "What about boys, is there anyone cute who you could help with his homework?"

Daisy hadn't even attempted a relationship in High School because she just wanted to get out of there. Now she couldn't just graduate early if she worked hard, and perhaps she should find a guy. "I don't need a man Pepper; I'm fine on my own."

"Your father leaves you alone too much." Pepper was probably right on that one. Tony and Daisy would go whole days without speaking to each other, not out of anger, but just because they were both too wrapped up in their own minds to remember the other. "Try to make friends?"

"I promise I will." Daisy would try. She didn't like being alone all the time. She just didn't mind it, and found it much harder to be in someone's company. "Is dad around?"

Pepper might have been the one who made Daisy promise to call, but Tony would definitely be upset (on the inside) if they didn't talk. "Hi, I'm sorry, I don't know who Daisy Johnson is. Should I know you?"

"You said you weren't still bitter about the name!" She knew he was totally annoyed about it, but he had said that of course he didn't care what she was called. "It's not like I legally changed it, it's just a cover, you know because I'm at spy school. It's good practice really."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say." Daisy heard a whooshing noise, and then some clattering. "Um, I have to go. Rhodey just showed up and knocked over Dummy, who well, he knocked over everything. Bye Daisy, I love you."

"Love you too." She whispered knowing he'd already hung up. He was very careful about not presenting her the chance to say I love you; it would freak him out too much to hear it. Daisy didn't really mind; her father was just weird about a lot of things like that.


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

Daisy connected her school laptop to J.A.R.V.I.S's interface before heading over to Sci-tech for her engineering class. Something told her that it was most definitely not going to be as easy as her last one.

The Sci-Tech campus looked almost exactly like the Coms one. The only difference was the cadets. At Coms you found lots of hipsters used to hacking off their smart phones. At Sci-tech, well these were your true nerds to the Coms geeks.

They were partnered up, and Daisy found herself with a nerdy Scottish dude named Fitz. (She had no idea if that was a first or last name, and didn't want to ask.) They'd been tasked with the 'simple' challenge of creating a break in an electrical circuit, and Fitz was already at work before Daisy could even introduce himself. She was glad for the partner, but his brilliance only went to show how much she did not belong in an engineering class. She was pretty sure that electrical currents were sine curves, but how you made an asymptote in one Daisy had no idea. Engineering was her dad's thing, and this just went to prove it.

"That was stupid," Fitz announced 10 minutes later. "I did this in University."

Daisy was beginning to wonder if the kid who walked out of her first class had the right idea. She really just wanted to walk back to the Coms campus, but wasn't sure who she talked to about changing her schedule because this was stupid. She had no idea how to do any of this.

"Miss Johnson, can I speak with you for a minute after class?"

Daisy wanted to object that she'd probably be late for Ops as it was, but figured it wasn't the best idea. Plus, the Professor was hopefully going to be like 'this is a huge mistake, your free to go to hacking tomorrow.'

"Fitz did all the work, correct?" The Professor, a woman named Holling, confirmed. "He's as brilliant as you, if in a different way."

"Look Agent Holling…"

"I know you don't want to be in this class," she interrupted giving Daisy a stern look. "And I know your father. I worked for him before joining S.H.I.E.L.D, he was quite miffed when I quit to do so." So the Professors did know who she was, or some at least. "You're not the only Coms cadet they send over to do Engineering classes you know. Communications is a tricky subject, and they've talked about joining it with Sci-Tech for a while. It wastes potential not having you all together."

Daisy could see how the Coms belonged in with Sci-tech, but at the same time these kids were probably a lot smarter. They were like her father smart and Daisy… well she could beat spoiled Malibu kids easily, but not protégée.

"Unfortunately you're not allowed to drop this class, Director Fury's order." Daisy was really starting to wonder what game that man was playing, and why Daisy seemed to be one of his favorite pieces. "So you better ask Fitz questions next time so you can learn."

Daisy wanted to scream, but she was too old for that. Instead she just whined a bit. "Can I please be partners with someone else then. He seems way too smart to be social."

"Fitz doesn't relate well with his peers, and from what I hear you don't either. And yet Agent Romanoff likes you, so you mustn't be a complete drag." Adults were different. Adults had always liked Daisy in a way kids didn't. "Make him like you, let him teach you, and pass my class, understood?"

"Yes ma'am." This is what it meant to be part of S.H.I.E.L.D. Daisy would have to get used to taking orders, however little she liked it.

"You may go."

Daisy ran the mile back to her Ops class, and was just on time. However she was also a lot more tired than everyone else was, which did not come to her advantage since they were doing strength training.

"Even if you're not a Field Agent being part of S.H.I.E.L.D is dangerous." Their 'Professor', a 4th year Operations cadet who'd told them only to call her Agent 13, informed them. "When someone kidnaps you for your research you're going to want to be able to fight well enough to escape. If you're not strong enough you're never going to be able to fight your way out. I want you all to do 100 push-ups and then you can leave. I don't care if you're here all night, do 100." The woman was so bad ass she probably could put Natasha to shame (nah not really, but the point was there), and so, despite her exhaustion, Daisy started.

It was agonizing work for a bunch of kids who'd spent their lives in labs and on laptops, but some got done sooner rather than later. Delaney was one of the first done of course, and she flashed a catty grin at Daisy before leaving the gym. The anger just made Daisy stronger, and she finished up soon after. She'd been doing 50 pushups daily for the last year, it wasn't too terrible to do twice that.

But Daisy was lucky. For the past year she'd been living with the memories of how helpless Obadiah made her feel, and she'd been learning to fight back. The dozen of kids collapsing on the mats after number 25 hadn't had that experience.

"Arching your back makes it harder," Daisy told the girl next to her. The girl was young, Daisy's age, and terrified. "Don't think about how much it hurts, think about how much everything else in life hurts, and how doing this can stop that."

The girl took a break, and looked at Daisy like she was nuts. Obviously she didn't know that feeling Daisy was talking about, but then again, who did? "If you're finished why haven't you left?"

She sounded bitter, but Daisy didn't mind. She'd probably sounded pretty darn bitter back in her engineering class. "Start again, I'll help you." The girl seemed wary, but pushed herself up. Daisy wrapped her arm under the girl's stomach and helped steady her with each push-up. "I'm Daisy by the way."

"Jemma Simmons," the girl replied gritting her teeth against the pain. It was probably much easier now with Daisy helping her, but for someone who'd never tried 100 pushups was Hell.

"What are you doing?" Daisy had been so focused on keeping Jemma going that she hadn't even noticed Agent 13 approaching. "I never said you could help each other."

The smart thing to do would be apologize and run away, but Daisy didn't feel like it. If S.H.I.E.L.D was all about doing what you're told when you're told Natasha would never have recommended her. If Daisy couldn't be herself she didn't want to last more than a day. "You never said we couldn't."

Agent 13 looked dumbfounded for a second, but she finally nodded. "Fine, but for everyone you help I want ten pull ups."

"Why would you get in trouble for me?" Jemma asked as they finished up. "You don't even know me."

"Sure I do," Daisy replied with a smile. "You're Jemma Simmons, the girl from Sci-Tech who just did 100 pushups, and I'm Daisy Johnson, the girl from Coms who is going to do 10 pull ups."

Jemma laughed, and it was a sweet laugh. Perhaps she could text Pepper later tonight and say she had made a friend after all.


	31. Chapter 31

A couple people asked so... I'm now on hours 11 of my Precalc project. Basically done, just waiting to get the answer key to make corrections and graph. Should be only 1-2 hours left! (shoot me, Daisy, please.)

* * *

Chapter 31

It's odd how those things you do for another always end up helping yourself. Daisy had no way of knowing it when she helped Jemma with her pushups, but the next day Fitz was going to actually talk her through the little drone they were building. And the next day he was almost friendly when correcting the flaws in her blueprint.

It took Daisy a few days to learn why, but she mentioned it to Jemma when they were running, and she confessed that Fitz and she were friends. Apparently they'd bonded over British things, like tea and Doctor Who. By helping Jemma Daisy had actually made two new friends, and it was kind of nice.

And so the first months at the S.H.I.E.L.D Academy went. All the Coms cadets hated Daisy for being too good with computers. All the Sci-Tech kids hated Fitzsimmons (as everyone had taken to calling them) for being too good at everything else. And the three of them banded together to get through the Hell that was Operations class. Agent 13 was a menace, and after the first day she was incredibly specific in her instructions about not helping each other. Still, she seemed to take a liking to Daisy for her insolence, and pushed the girl to do twice what everyone else was. Daisy didn't mind; she wanted to be the best she could be. If she could fight like a true S.H.I.E.L.D agent, she could be one.

Daisy's relationship with her father was improving too, now that she wasn't living with him. It's funny how things like that work out, but it's true. She talked to him almost every day and told him about life at the S.H.I.E.L.D Academy. In turn he brainstormed new tech with her, and talked about his exploits as Iron Man. Daisy could have, of course, just read about them online, but it was far more fun to hear about them from the man himself.

"So Fitzsimmons and I went into the city the other day," Daisy chattered while tweaking her location-specific encryption to include altitude, as Tony had suggested. "And we saw a remarkable sight. A man in a giant metal suit was flying around with a little kid in a very similar suit. It was very cute."

Tony laughed on the other end; he loved it when Daisy described him as cute. "Make a Wish asked, how could I say no? Fun fact, it was actually a girl."

Daisy was impressed. "She would totally have preferred Iron Girl."

"Who are you talking to?"

Daisy slammed the video chat shut as Delaney appeared in the doorway. "What are you doing here? Don't you have hacking?"

"I left my report here," Delaney made it sound like a curse, and she was being more civil than normal. "Was that Tony Stark?"

Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. "Oh yes, because I definitely just chat with Tony Stark about my work. Him and I are just Bffs."

If they'd been 5 years younger Delaney would have stuck out her tongue, but instead she just grabbed her report, flipped Daisy off, and walked out.

"Oh you are still there," Tony chattered brightly when she reopened the laptop. "What was that?"

"Something I haven't heard the end of I'm sure," Daisy sighed cursing herself. She should have been more careful. If she'd been more vigilant she would have known that Delaney was coming. What a shitty spy she was. "I need to go, I'll talk to you soon. Give Pepper my love, and don't forget to give her your own as well."

Daisy clicked out of the chat, and sat back in her chair. It was against every single rule of the school, but then again so was whatever Delaney would do with the information if she knew who Daisy really was. It couldn't hurt just to check…

For a school full of hackers, the Communication Academy's wifi really sucked. The administration gathered information to keep an eye on the cadets, make sure they weren't bad seeds, but that same information could be viewed by just about anyone with the knowledge to access it.

If Daisy really thought about it, she'd realize she was the only one who could hack into it, but she didn't think too much on it. And if she had she would have brushed it off because she wasn't as arrogant as her father, most of the time.

Tracking down Delaney's computer amid all them was difficult, but not for Daisy. She'd long ago made sure she knew every unique signature that laptop gave off, just in case something like this happened.

Her browsing history was pretty normal, the kind of things you Google as a Coms cadet. Then there was the other stuff that Daisy wished she hadn't seen, but were just the price of the job.

There was nothing relating to Tony Stark though, so Daisy was just about to consider herself safe when the new image search came through-Daisy Stark. So Delaney wasn't as stupid as her test scores would indicate.

Daisy wanted to punch a wall, but she had to get to Ops. Just because engineering was called off because of a chemical leak that didn't mean Daisy was free from all classes.

They were doing partner work in Ops, which was spectacular. Normally Jemma and Daisy would fight, Fitz partnering up with Cam, the cadet Daisy ran into first day. Today though Daisy had a different target in mind. Maybe she couldn't punch a wall, but she could punch the annoying fly on it.

"You know you really think you're clever, don't you," Delaney sneered once the mats were in place. "The haircut is nice, I honestly didn't recognize you. But not even changing the first name… that a rookie mistake."

Daisy didn't reply with her lips, instead she wrapped her leg around Delaney and smashed the girl into the ground. (She even got a 'god job' from Agent 13, which any other time Daisy would have loved, but today she barely heard it.) "Oh boo hoo you figured out my big secret. The whole school says I only got in because my dad's Iron Man, so what?"

Daisy missed a beat, and felt Delaney's fist in her stomach. "So something. You obviously don't want people to know or you wouldn't have picked the new name."

In all honesty she did care; that was the problem. Daisy wasn't ready to go back to just being good because she was Tony Stark's daughter. Why couldn't she be good because she was good? Tony Stark wasn't the reason Delaney was lying flat on her ass, Daisy Stark was. "Let me guess, I have to do something for you or you'll make sure everyone in the school knows who I really am."

"Oh it's nothing," Delaney swore twirling around so now they were both wrestling on the ground. "You just have to give me a crack at the S.H.I.E.L.D servers."

What? Daisy had expected something more along the lines of 'do my homework for a month', not that. "What makes you think I even have access?"

Delaney flipped Daisy, before turning around to pull off her gloves. "Don't play dumb Daisy, you're not dumb. I want to know what the Avengers Initiative is, and I want to know what happened in New Mexico. I'm not going to tear down any governments or something."

Daisy doubted that. "And if I don't?"

"Then the little Starkling is going to learn how to fly, because everyone who got here by their own merit is going to chase her out of here."

Daisy growled, more annoyed that Delaney would threaten her than by the threat. Without thinking, Daisy slammed her fist into the girl's nose, and heard a sickening snap. "That's for the first day of school you bitch."

"Hey," Agent 13 called, coming over to see what the fuss was about. "Her gloves are off Daisy. That means you're supposed to stop, remember?"

"Of course, I didn't realize she was done," Daisy muttered a smile on her face. "I'm so very sorry about your perfect nose Delaney, would you like me to walk you to the Infirmary?"

"Oh very kind of you, Daisy, but I think I can fly there myself. Some girls are made of iron you know and don't need to be saved."

Daisy should have let it drop, but the bitch just had it coming for her. "Well, it's a good thing there are people out there to save the rest of you who aren't. See you back in our room!"


	32. Chapter 32

I promise I didn't forget about you! I just had to finish my project (14 hours total, gah!), and then I had a couple Christmas parties. I haven't stopped to breathe all day! Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 32

Delaney was walking back from the infirmary muttering about all the horrible things she was going to do when she saw him. He stood in an alley off to the side, just staring at her. Trembling, she went over. "Daisy thinks calling her daddy to come and defend her is so scary, well it just shows she's a…" She turned the corner into the ally, but Iron Man wasn't there.

No, he was standing outside the door to their doom room. "Wow, who knew you were as much a coward as your daughter. You want to protect her, don't threaten me, I'm not scared." The trembling in her voice would beg to differ. "Give me all you know about the Avengers Initiative and I won't tell anyone that that freak is your daughter."

"Oh you won't be telling anyone." Delaney turned, and standing behind her was the Black Widow looking furious. "The Avengers Initiative is level 7, you shouldn't even have heard the name. I guess that means your mom can come to the Sandbox with you."

That scared Delaney. "I didn't do anything wrong! Daisy was the one who mentioned Avengers to me! I didn't do anything you can't send me to the Sandbox!"

"We'll see about that." She disappeared into the darkness, and Delaney turned to find Iron Man gone as well. Shaking, Delaney wandered into the common room, and decided sleeping on the couch there was way safer than going back with Daisy.

The next day Delaney didn't tell anyone who Daisy was, because she was too busy looking over her shoulder for S.H.I.E.L.D agents. And considering every single professor was a S.H.I.E.L.D agent, it was pretty damn impossible to stay away from them.

"I'm sorry okay!" Delaney burst into her and Daisy's room, tears staining the older girl's eyes. "I won't tell anyone about your dad! Just don't let them send me to the Sandbox!"

Daisy smiled at the girl, and nodded. Pulling out her phone, she dialed and waited for the answer. "She really doesn't know shit about Avengers Natasha, no more than anyone around campus does. I think she's fine not going to the Sandbox…Yes I'll keep an eye on her… yeah I'm make sure she knows you'll break a lot more than her nose if she comes near me again… Bye Nat, tell Clint I said hi… yes, I'll talk to you soon."

Delaney breathed heavily, and packed up her stuff. "You're a bitch, you know that? I'm moving in with Jenna and Ashley because they're better than living with a psycho like you!"

"Don't threaten me again," Daisy replied her voice sounding awfully like Natasha's. "Don't threaten any S.H.I.E.L.D agent or future agent again. The Sandbox is for S.H.I.E.L.D's worst criminals, and there is no higher offence than messing with your own, alright?" Delaney nodded frantically, tears in the corner of her eyes. "Get out of here."

Delaney was gone before Daisy could even finish the sentence. Smiling to herself, Daisy pressed a few buttons, and watched as her lovely holograms appeared besides her. "Nice work."

Now that Delaney and her obnoxious music was gone, Daisy fell asleep easily for the first time in months. When she awoke, however, it was still dark, and she heard shuffling in the corner of the room.

Daisy didn't turn on the light, but recognized the figure anyway. Natasha Romanoff certainly looked like the poisonous spider in her new black suit and the shadows of the room. "I don't like being used for personal vendettas."

Daisy wasn't surprised that Natasha knew. The Academy had cameras everywhere, and whoever operated them probably spilled the beans. "I just scared her a little bit. Having my dad was scary, not nowhere near as terrifying as you."

"You broke her nose. Something tells me that wasn't a training accident."

Daisy scoffed. Was Natasha 'super assassin' Romanoff really lecturing her about hurting people? "Like you haven't done far worse just because people annoyed you."

Natasha moved lighting fast, pinning Daisy up against the wall by her neck. "You don't want to become me Daisy. If you're going to ever do something like this again you can leave the Academy this minute. I'm not letting you become like me."

Natasha let go so the girl could breathe, and Daisy nodded furiously. Tears streamed down her cheeks as terror gripped her. "I won't do it again I promise! I just didn't want her thinking she could win."

"Never again," Natasha swore backing away. "S.H.I.E.L.D doesn't accept agents in wheelchairs, just an FYI. I thought you were made of something special Daisy, something that would keep you from becoming like Delaney, but if you're not I will keep you out of S.H.I.E.L.D, even if it means putting you in a wheelchair. Understood?"

Daisy sure as Hell understood. She thought she was being brave, bold, smart by going after Delaney, but really she had just been as much of a bully as Delaney was. "I understand, and I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that, and I shouldn't have used you."

"I want you to either go home or apologize to Delaney tomorrow, it's up to you, but you need to pick Daisy, and stick with it. You're too good to let S.H.I.E.L.D destroy."

Natasha disappeared as quickly as she came, and Daisy sat in bed hating herself. She had been so stupid. She acted without thinking, and way over reacted. Worst of all she'd been scared. She was scared that people would know the truth, and that fear drove her to do something stupid. And to think Daisy thought joining S.H.I.E.L.D would help her not be scared anymore.

It clicked in Daisy's mind that she would always be scared when part of S.H.I.E.L.D. Someone would always be in danger whether it be someone Daisy loved or Daisy herself. She would always be scared, but she couldn't react like she had with Delaney. She had to let fear make her better. Could she do that?

"What do you want bitch?" Delaney asked when Daisy approached her the next morning. "What did I ever do to you to deserve this Hell?"

So much. "Nothing," Daisy admitted softly. "I am very sorry Delaney for what I did. I should not have broken your nose. I should not have scared you. None of it was real, just holograms I made. You are in no danger, and it was very wrong of me to make you think you were. I am very sorry."

Delaney stood, mouth open, staring, but Daisy walked away. "Whatever bitch! You're just a coward scared of what I'll tell people."

Of course Daisy was scared. She could get kicked out for what she did, but it didn't matter. Daisy wasn't going to do anything about her fear, just let it exist, and work as if it didn't.


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Neither Fitz nor Jemma were Irish, but Daisy decided that they were close enough, and they went out on St. Patrick's Day. Sure, it was a Tuesday and they all had work they should be doing, but it felt wrong not to celebrate. They were 3/4th of the way done with their first year at the Academy. It had been Hell lots of the time, but it had been good. For the first time in all of their lives they had friends their own age, and it was wonderful.

"No, Daisy, you didn't," Jemma looked horrified when Daisy pulled out the fake ID's. "We don't even look 21!"

"No, we look 22," Daisy argued pointing to their birthdays. "I made these at school. They're top grade. A police officer could look at them and think they're real."

Simmons looked really nervous, but Fitz was grinning. "Come on Jemma, it's okay to break the rules every now and again."

Jemma Simmons was not the type to be peer-pressured though, and she refused. "Fine, then we can do something that isn't technically against the rules. Like raid Operations."

It wasn't against the rules for the sheer fact that it was a stupid idea no one could pull off. Operations had people on guard 24/7, patrols, the whole shebang. They were more likely to get shot trespassing at the Operations Academy than at the White House.

"Agent Coulson said you're not a S.H.I.E.L.D agent unless you have at least one ridiculous Academy story. Everyone else's Academy stories begin with them being drunk, but according to Simmons we're too young for that. This is the next best option."

Daisy had no idea how she convinced them that that was in any shape or form true, but they agreed. Of course Fitzsimmons would agree to do the technically-legal-but-stupid thing instead of just getting drunk.

Daisy figured the best way to be prepared was just to take every little gadget Fitz had built and toss it in a bag, because who knew what they would face. Surely he had to have something for whatever they came across, and if they didn't… well they'd improvise.

Jemma apparently had some artistic ability as well, because she created the sign they would hang inside the cafeteria to prove what they'd done. Daisy stuffed that in their gadget bag as well, and got ready. "Now remember that we don't want to fight an Ops cadet, because we'll lose. So we go unseen," Daisy reminded them as they reached the high fence and 'keep out' signs. "It looks to me like the patrol takes 7 minutes to come around and once they pass again I'm all set to loop the camera feeds. I'm guessing it will take them 15 minutes to notice that, so that's how much time we have to get out."

Fitzsimmons looked ready to back out, but they didn't say anything. Once the patrol passed, Fitz was even the one who cut the fence so they could sneak in. The three dashed across the lawn, staying low to the ground and blending in with the shadows. Once inside, Daisy pulled them immediately into an empty room to scour the layout. Despite being a lot colder, the Ops Academy appeared to be lain out in the same way as the other two. Daisy gave the hand signal for 'follow me' and practiced her silent running, mentally checking off one item of homework she had to do. At one point they came across a band of cadets, and Fitz panicked trying to pull back. Daisy, however, just kept walking and laughing, and the cadets didn't even look up. Daisy was used to going unseen whenever she went into public with her dad. She knew the best way wasn't to hide, but to act like there was no reason you should be hiding.

The cafeteria doors were locked, but that didn't slow them down. Fitz had designed a device to pick locks automatically back in October, and it sure as Hell came in hand now.

It took them only a minute to hang the banner and escape back out of the Cafeteria. The group in the hallway from before were gone, but a bunch of scary looking girls had replaced them. "Who are you?"

"I'm Darcy Lane and this is Jessamine Stale and Larry French," Daisy answered with a smile. "Can I like take a picture of you guys to prove that upperclassmen spoke to us?"

The girls laughed, and shook their heads. "Move on while you can, Carter is coming to meet us and she would not be as approving of you being out after curfew as we are."

"But you're out after curfew," Fitz pointed out and Daisy was worried his confused look would get them in trouble. Instead the girls just laughed, and Daisy pulled him out of the building. She forgot to check her watch before they did though, and the patrol was just looping back around.

"Under the bush," Daisy whispered pushing them down. The three sat on top of each other under the bush waiting silently for the patrol to find and kill them, but the running cadets just kept moving. Once they were gone, Daisy and Fitzsimmons dashed back onto the other side of the fence and away.

"Do you feel like that was too easy?" Daisy laughed as they strolled back towards their campuses. "Like these are our future Field Agents, and that was pretty pitiful."

Jemma looked at Daisy like she had two heads. "Are you kidding? I spent that whole time thinking I was going to die!"

"But you didn't," Daisy reminded her friend with a firm pat on the back. "And we just proved that generations of Sci-Tech and Coms Cadets are chicken for nothing. No one will ever know it's us. Honestly, I just wish we could see the look on those Ops kids faces when they see it in the morning!"

Fitzsimmons exchanged a look, but smiled. "I feel like our Academy years would have been a lot less interesting if you weren't here Daisy," Jemma admitted as she and Fitz turned to go back to Sci-Tech. "I'm glad you are though. That was fun. Much more fun than getting drunk illegally."

It probably said a lot about the Cadets of S.H.I.E.L.D that they thought so, but perhaps that was the point.

* * *

Reply to guest reviewer who didn't like Natasha's reaction in last chapter: I can understand why you might not like it. I was very torn on it myself, but I think it's because Natasha is such a good friend to Daisy that she responded that way. Natasha thinks she's a monster, and I think she was trying to crush any bit of monster in Daisy. She wouldn't want Daisy to be a part of Shield if she thought the power would go to her head. That's why she responded so poorly. She was afraid of Daisy becoming like her. Anyway, hope that explains it a bit and I hope you continue to enjoy.


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Daisy was summoned to Agent McGee, the head of the Communications divison's office first thing the next morning. She knew they'd been caught and grabbed her student handbook so she could commit the words to memory on the walk. Technically they hadn't broken any rules, and Daisy just had to prove it.

Fitzsimmons were already there with Agent Weaver, their head, and the three girls they ran into on their way out of the Academy. "This is the last girl?" Agent McGee confirmed, and the Ops students nodded, looking embarrassed. Apparently Daisy and Fitzsimmons weren't the only ones in trouble. "You three can return to class."

Daisy sat besides Fitzsimmons feeling terrible. They both looked ready to cry and all because of her. It had been Daisy's idea after all.

"Look, agent McGee, technically we didn't break any rules. Cadets are permitted to visit other divisions of the Academy if they deem themselves to have appropriate cause. We deemed the chance to test our new abilities appropriate cause. So really you can't punish us and need to find the person who wrote the handbook to yell at."

Agent McGee was smiling. "We weren't planning on punishing you Miss Johnson. We were hoping to congratulate you. We were also hoping you'd write a mission report so we can identify the areas of weakness in the security. We only found you because you identified yourselves as from Sci-tech and Ops. The girls on guard duty only described you as 'a ginger Scottish guy brownish, blondish, redish girl and a brown haired girl all about 17." We wouldn't have identified you from the general population, only ours here. If you had actually been a threat we would be in a very dangerous situation at the moment. Your ingenuity has possibly saved us all."

Daisy and Fitzsimmons looked at each other amazed to have gotten praised instead of expelled. "Yeah, I'll write the mission report," Daisy finally replied. "Honestly, the security is terrible."

"And we intend to fix that," Agent McGee assured. "The report by tomorrow please, Miss Johnson, now to class."

If Daisy thought it was over though, she was wrong. The whole Ops class stood awkwardly wondering where Agent 13 was. When she showed up, she dropped Jemma's banner on the floor. "Three of you managed to do last night what generations of cadets have been too cowardly to even try. For that, I will congratulate you all. The managed to lie to three fourth year operations cadets and not be discovered." Daisy didn't have to look to know Agent 13's eyes were on her. "You were lucky. The cadets weren't expecting anyone to lie to them. But you might one day have to lie when expected to which is why today you're all going to try to lie to a polygraph."

"And me," Natasha peeled out of the shadows, a grin on her face. "It's one thing to keep your heartbeat steady enough to fool a machine. It's another thing to lie to someone trained the same way you are. Let's see if you can do it, though I doubt you can. No one has ever lied to me and gotten away with it."

It occurred to Daisy that everyone didn't know who this Agent Romanoff helping with their lesson was. They'd heard legends of the Black Widow, of course, but only those who knew S.H.I.E.L.D, namely Daisy and Delaney, knew this woman to be that legend. Even Fitzsimmons didn't know, and Daisy wasn't going to terrify them by telling.

While people one by one went back to try it out, Agent 13 explained the theory behind lying to a polygraph. Daisy didn't listen; she knew the theory. Find the truth in the lie. Make your body think it's telling the truth and the polygraph will think so too. It was lying to Natasha that would be impossible. The woman was scary good at lying; Daisy had seen it firsthand.

A couple of people came out crying, proving Daisy's point about Natasha. Fitz looked as if he'd been run over by a bus. Finally, it was Daisy's turn, and she entered the room.

"Nice job at Ops," Natasha smiled and Daisy breathed a sigh of relief, Apparently trespassing wouldn't result in paralyzation. "I volunteered to do this because of you, you know, so be grateful. Though, Clint might also have something to do with it… he doesn't' think I'll last an hour with cadets."

She'd already been terrorizing them for 50 minutes, so unless Daisy royally screwed up it looked like Nat was winning that bet.

"What's your name?" Natasha began after hooking Daisy up.

"Daisy Stark." It felt weird saying it at the Academy, but it was true. The antics of the night before were definitely proof she was her father's daughter.

"What's your birthday?"

These baseline questions weren't supposed to be difficult, but of course they were for Daisy. Complicated lives make everything complicated. "I don't know my exact birthday. The nuns listed it as July 1st for simplicity's sake."

"What were you doing when we first met?'

For a second Daisy was worried she wouldn't remember, but her ass did. "Happy and I were boxing, my dad let you get in the ring with me. I realized you were terrifying, and impressive."

Apparently even Natasha Romanoff liked compliments, because Daisy made out a thin smile. "Last June you were in New Mexico. What did you do there?"

Daisy knew this was a test. The problem was she really didn't know the answer. Surely Natasha had to know about Thor, but then again it was classified and Daisy wasn't supposed to talk about it. Yet she was trying to make Natasha believe her lies, so if Natasha knew what happened Daisy couldn't just lie… It was the classic case of not knowing how much your interrogator already knew, and it was cruel. Of course it was cruel-this was S.H.I.E.L.D training with Natasha Romanoff. It was meant to make Daisy better.

"It was a consultation to see whether or not I was an appropriate fit for the S.H.I.E.L.D Academy." Natasha had more or less used those same words when telling Daisy about it, so it was a pretty safe choice.

Natasha, of course, didn't like safe. "You met a man there with superhuman powers. Where was he from?"

Daisy was screwed with this question. If she said Asgard she'd be kicked out of the Academy for talking about classified information. If she said something else the polygraph would pick up the lie, and if it didn't Natasha would. Unless…

"I don't know," Daisy answered with a shrug. "I never asked him where he was from."

Natasha puckered her lips, and studied the polygraph. It had remained steady. "Nice try, but I'm not a machine. I know that you know where he's from. So where is he from?"

Daisy held her head high, locking eyes with Natasha. "I don't know where the man I met is from. You know when people are lying, so tell me, Agent Romanoff, am I lying?"

The two women stared for a painfully long time before Natasha disconnected the polygraph. "I've read the report. You were the first person to believe Thor was from Asgard. If I was actually your enemy I would have killed you by now."

If Natasha was Daisy's enemy she would have been dead even before the lying began. "Fine, then that's the price I pay for not giving up S.H.I.E.L.D intel that would endanger a man I consider a friend," Daisy shrugged standing up. She couldn't just go without asking though, because she just couldn't. "Tell me though, Natasha, was I lying?"

Natasha didn't answer, but that was enough of an answer for Daisy. She'd just bested the Black Widow, and damn if it didn't feel good.

* * *

(Note: If anyone can figure out how Daisy managed to lie to Natasha I'll give you a prize. And 'she's a good liar' isn't the answer.)


	35. Chapter 35

Well, you all did far better with it than I expected. So 20 points to my fellow Ravens, 40 to the snakes and 10 to the muggles (no-maj for ameircans like me). Also, is that what I have to do to get 17 reviews on one chapter? Promise Hogwarts House points?

* * *

Chapter 35

Daisy awoke to the fresh April morning and wanted to shoot it. She turned the clock around, not wanting to see the number five staring out at her, but it was no good. She was awake, and she wasn't falling back to sleep.

She wasn't sure what woke her in the first place; the whole building was silent. They'd all been brutalized in Ops the day before when Agent 13 brought out the batons, and then stayed up until about two hours ago watching movies. This was their last real weekend before they had to begin studying for final exams, and they were making the most of it. No one was getting up at 5 AM on a Sunday, except for, apparently, Daisy.

And Delaney. Daisy had no idea what happened during the polygraph, but ever since she'd been getting up at five every morning to go run a marathon. (Well, she only ran a half marathon really, but it was close enough.) And the girl had been vicious enough that Jenna and Ashley had forced her out of their room. Daisy offered for Delaney to return to their room, but she refused. Daisy didn't push it. If Delaney wanted to sleep in the common room, bite everyone's ear off, and run a half marathon every day that was her prerogative.

Daisy figured her dad would be awake, and considered calling him up. Yet she found herself with absolutely nothing to say. Her life consisted of classes, homework, and occasionally talking to Fitzsimmons, if it fit in with one of the two above. The night before had been the first time Daisy actually did something fun with the other Coms students since… since like her first week.

She didn't really mind the Academy engulfing every waking moment of her life. Daisy knew she was learning a lot of really important skills that would keep her, and others, alive. Plus, she actually was beginning to find herself competent at engineering, many thanks to Fitz for that. It was exciting, and would be far more exciting if she didn't spill the beans and tell her dad before summer break. She couldn't wait for the look on his face when he came down and saw her building something that would put his iron man suits to shame. Fitz was even helping her draw up blueprints for a 'completely theoretical' flying car. It could never exist in reality he said without the power from an arc reactor, and since Daisy of course didn't have access to that technology she was out of luck.

Yeah, she hadn't told Fitzsimmons about her dad yet. It wasn't that she didn't trust them, because she did. She trusted them more than she'd ever trusted anyone in her life. They always did what they said they would. They always were there for Daisy if she needed them. Again and again they'd proven Daisy was right to trust them.

So no, it wasn't lack of trust that kept Daisy from spilling the beans, it was lack of an appropriate situation. After all Daisy had been so tight lipped about her family from the beginning that they graciously stopped asking. Now there was no real way to tell them without randomly blurting out the information into a perfectly normal conversation. She'd tell them, but she needed a good chance, and hadn't had the time.

Perhaps when she got an arc reactor built with her dads help and flew their car to Scotland Daisy would be able to tell Fitzsimmons. Until then…

Until then she'd remain silent, to Fitzsimmons about her family, and to her family about, well, everything. There was nothing going on in Daisy's life that Tony would want to know about. Oh, they talked at least once a week, usually more, but never for long. Both were too busy with their own work to focus on the others. And they were okay with that, really and truly okay with that. They always did say your relationship with your parents gets better when you leave home, and Daisy truly was beginning to believe it.

Unsure what else to do, Daisy decided she should go for a run as well. A year ago she'd never have imagined herself in such good shape, but she still was far from field ready. And the longer Daisy was at the Academy the more she realized that she didn't just want to be shut up in an office hacking satellites forever. She wanted a Field assignment, but she'd have to pass the physical exam for that. Perhaps Delaney did have the right idea with her runs.

That didn't mean Daisy was going to start doing it every day, but she could definitely put in a couple miles before the run rose. Decided, she dressed quickly, and as she went to leave finally discovered what woke her.

Her door was open. Not much, but it had cracked open. That wasn't the weird thing though. The weird thing was that her door knob appeared to be lying on the ground-as a puddle of brass.

Perhaps she was going to have something to call her dad and talk about.

Daisy cleaned up the pile, and found it already hardened. She wasn't sure how it could have melted in the first place because, while a warm spring day, it wasn't 900 C out. Jemma might know, with her chemistry PhD, but Daisy had no idea. And since even Jemma wouldn't want to awake now in exchange for scientific discovery, Daisy just strapped on her sneakers and ran to the hardware store.

Of course it wasn't open. Daisy kept forgetting the time. So she pushed on running. The sun had begun to rise, and Daisy began to notice the destruction about town. A tree was downed, the top half lying in a puddle of solid tree. All about town solid objects weren't solid. Daisy's door knob had been one thing, the kind of thing that could wait another two hours until 8, but this couldn't.

Daisy was grateful that it was 6:00 by the time she made it back to the Academy and found Agent McGee's room. His lights were on, so at least Daisy wouldn't be waking him up to inform him of the town's state.

"If this is about the town melting," Agent McGee sighed when he opened the door. "I've already been informed."

Daisy nodded and was about to leave when she realized he thought only the town was melting. "Agent McGee, it has something to do with the Academy. My doorknob is melted as well, so whoever it is has been in the girl's dorm."

The frown on Agent McGee's face told Daisy that she was right; this was news to him. "Thank you Miss Johnson, I need you to return to the dorms and spread the word that there will be a mandatory meeting in a half hour. Anyone not in attendance will be considered an enemy of S.H.I.E.L.D and treated as such."

Daisy nodded, and went on her way a chill in her spine. Agent McGee thought one of them was doing this, one of them had the technology to liquefy anything.

Unless it wasn't a piece of tech. S.H.I.E.L.D dealt with far weirder things than tech, they dealt with superheroes. And occasionally the other end of the spectrum- by supervillains.


	36. Chapter 36

Happy Christmas to all celebrating! And to all who aren't I love you for your patience during this season!

* * *

Chapter 36

Everyone came. Most of the girls whined when Daisy told them to get up, but once she explained they sobered up quickly. Everyone was scared, and everyone wanted to know who was doing this.

Daisy had never seen every single S.H.I.E.L.D Cadet in one place before, and it was terrifying. One hundred future agents sat in silence. No one asked what this was all about. No one asked who'd done it. No one breathed. There was a threat to the world among them, and no one wanted to know which of their friends it was.

They'd all scanned in, and from what Daisy could see on her phone everyone was accounted for. No one was an enemy of S.H.I.E.L.D yet, but no one doubted someone would be before they were let out. It had a sobering effect, even on 100 young adults.

"There are S.H.I.E.L.D clean up teams out there right now cleaning up one of your messes," Agent Walker, the general Head of the Academy, finally began looking at the cadets. "No one has been hurt, and Communication Agents have already ensured there is no way this is making it onto the internet. We got lucky." Really, if they were lucky why did Agent Walker look so grave? "But we might not the next time. You are all well aware that as S.H.I.E.L.D Cadets you are held to a higher level of excellence. Yet, in light of the fact that none have been harmed, let it be known that if the culprit steps forward now there will be no consequences. If he or she does not reveal themselves now, know that you will be discovered and you will be sent to the Sandbox."

Everyone looked around, waiting for whoever it was to admit. Daisy spotted Fitzsimmons sitting close, relying on the other for security. She saw Agent 13 sitting with none other than the girls Daisy met when they snuck into Operations. She saw Delaney gripping her arm rest. Looking around the room, Daisy saw a hundred terrified cadets, but no one admitting to the crime.

"Very well then," Agent Walker decreed with a nod. "Remain in your seats until you are retrieved by your head of school for interrogation. No one is leaving until we have found whoever did this and properly neutralized them. Be wary. There is a threat in your midst."

People were wary, for a little while. The silence stretched out as students were pulled away for interrogation. Many returned crying. More than one didn't return at all. No one could find words to express the tension, so they remained silence.

It didn't last forever though. The Sci-Tech and Coms students got restless first, not having been trained for the waiting game the way their Ops counterparts were. Students started moving about the room, talking to friends. Soon enough the whole place burst into chatter, and the Agents didn't want to silence it. It was much more likely for someone to confess to their friends than in an interrogation.

Daisy wasn't surprised to be one of the first Agent McGee pulled away. Considering she'd been the first Cadet to report it she was actually surprised not to be the first one questioned. Still, they didn't keep her waiting long, and she was pulled out of the booming auditorium and into a classroom.

They were meeting at the Sci-Tech building, because it was in the middle of the three. Daisy recognized the room she was brought to as one of the Biology labs, not because she'd ever studied in it, but because Jemma always did. Daisy found it a comforting thought, knowing how much Jemma loved the room. It helped Daisy feel brave.

They didn't hook her up to a polygraph, probably because they were all trained to resist a polygraph. As Natasha had said it was far harder to lie to a person than to a machine. Agent McGee could spot a lie a mile away surely, so Daisy didn't plan on telling any.

"Miss Johnson, you arrived at my door at barely six this morning. Did you go immediately there after finding your door handle melted?"

Daisy shook her head. "When the handle melted my door swung open. It woke me up and I decided to go for a run to kill time."

"So you just went for a run knowing your door handle had somehow melted? Do you know the heat it would require to melt a brass doorknob?"

Yes she did, and so Daisy understood how bad it looked. Most people would probably have freaked out and run to tell someone the minute they saw something like that. "Well for one weird things happen in the dorms all the time. I figured some Sci-Techie had built something that could melt the handle, and didn't worry about it. It was only when I realized the town had been affected that I realized it was a threat."

"But still, you weren't concerned with a melted doorknob?"

"Agent McGee, I'm not sure if you know this, though I imagine you do, but my last name is not Johnson." He didn't look shocked, so Daisy figured he had known that. "My dad is Tony "I am Iron Man" Stark. I have woken up to far weirder things than a melted doorknob. Perhaps I should have thought more on it, but I just plain didn't. If that's a crime now, send me to the Sandbox."

Agent McGee seemed to be holding back a smile. Apparently he was like Coulson, Barton, and Romanoff-the type of agent who liked the snarky cadet. "I am well aware of your father Miss Johnson. And no, a perverted perception of what should and should not happen in reality is not yet a crime, though I'm sure some Senator is working on it." Probably Senator Stern the asshole. "And I do not, for the record, think you did this. It requires an understanding of thermodynamics and chemistry you do not have, and a technical skill you've yet to devote yourself to. I am simply hoping, as you are, to find whoever is doing this before they liquefy a person." Oh, wow, Daisy hadn't thought of that possibility. "So if you know anything, please, tell me."

"I wish I did," Daisy confessed knowing she should have known something but just plain didn't. "But I don't. I'm sorry Agent McGee. If there is anything I can do to help just let me know."

He nodded, but didn't say anything else except "you can go". Daisy felt pretty useless as she left the room. To think she'd come to S.H.I.E.L.D so she wouldn't always feel so useless, and here she was again. Perhaps Daisy would just always be powerless to stop the bad guys. Perhaps that was all she ever could be.


	37. Chapter 37

I would like to encourage you all to go and read "White Starkling Christmas". It's a little oneshot set in the same universe as this but between Iron Man 1 and 2. And it's adorable. Also, Happy Christmas!

* * *

Chapter 37

The auditorium was even wilder than when Daisy left, and she couldn't even find Fitzsimmons. She thought for a moment they had to be getting questioned, until she spotted them over in the corner. Carefully Daisy attempted to make it through the crowd, but she ended up getting pushed and tumbled over the chairs into Delaney's lap.

It could not possibly have gone any worse. Daisy would rather fall on top of one of the terrifying guys from Operations than Delaney who quickly pushed Daisy to the floor. "What the hell!" Delaney cried terror in her eyes. "Why did you just jump me! I didn't do anything!"

Wow, that was oddly tense, even for Delaney. Daisy was about to say so when she noticed the armrest had been crushed. No, not crushed, melted. She looked up at Delaney quickly, but the elder girl noticed Daisy's eyes. "Please, I can't stop," Delaney whispered looking around frantically to make sure no one else had noticed. "I'm not trying to hurt anyone, I just can't stop."

Delaney reached out to grab Daisy's arm, but she pulled away. If Delaney was somehow accidentally melting things, well Daisy did not want to be next. "Whatever device you're using, just crush it that has to stop it."

Delaney bit her lip, and shook her head frantically. "You don't understand Daisy. It's not a machine, it's me! I'm going this, and I don't know how to stop."

It was her. She'd somehow developed the ability to liquefy with a touch. That was so much worse than Delaney just having built some machine, especially if she really couldn't control it. "We can talk to Agent McGee. S.H.I.E.L.D knows about powers, they can help me."

"My mother's job is to kill enhanced out of control," Delaney hissed, grabbing Daisy's arm. Her skin didn't melt, but it was feeling awfully warm. "I might not be able to stop melting things, but I know how to start it. I can't guarantee I won't kill you accidentally, but I know as a fact I can kill you on purpose. Scream and I will."

Daisy didn't doubt it. She'd once seen a bunch of dogs corner a cat, and the cat won. A trapped animal would do anything, could do anything, and Delaney was that trapped animal.

"How do you plan on getting out of here?" Daisy spit, trying to pull her arm from Delaney, but finding it impossible. The girl's workouts were doing something. "We're locked in."

Delaney just kept pulling the two of them through the crowd, not being noticed at all. "Shut up."

Daisy did, and followed willingly. She didn't plan on letting Delaney kill her. If Delaney felt threatened she might just do so. In all honestly Daisy was more worried for Delaney's life than her own. Delaney was in a world of trouble, and locked in with everyone training to be that trouble.

Honestly, Daisy for the first time felt bad for Delaney. She was seriously messed up, and not just because of her newfound powers. "How did this happen to you?" Daisy whispered unsure where Delaney thought they were going. (Locked room and all.)

Delaney wasn't having any of it. "Shut up," she ordered, slamming her first against a chair and melting it. A girl sitting nearby noticed, and her eyes grew wide with horror. Delaney noticed, and promptly melted a hole in the wall causing sunlight to stream through.

Everyone noticed that. A few people screamed, but most just ran towards Delaney who, in turn, melted Daisy's sweatshirt right off. "Take one more step and I'll kill her," Delaney warned, and everyone skidded to a stop. Someone must have run to get the Agents, because they came running into the room full speed. "Daisy will be fine, so long as you all let me out of here safely. And if her life isn't worth enough to keep you from just shooting me, because honesty, it probably isn't, know I can melt this support beam next to me just as quickly as you can pull the trigger. The whole future of S.H.I.E.L.D gone in a flash. Now that would be a shame."

"Now Miss Devont," Agent McGee called, standing still, but his hand close to the holster. "We don't need to make this messy. Whatever you've done so far can be sorted out, but only if no one gets hurt. You know harming a fellow cadet is punishable by life in the Sandbox, there is no escaping that once you go there."

"Life in the Sandbox, life on the Index, what's the difference?" Delaney spit, but Daisy could hear her voice quake. She was scared, so very scared, and not of everyone else, but of herself. "No, Daisy and I are going, and you're going to let us." Delaney moved towards the hole she created, and no one moved to shoot her. "And I want Fitzsimmons as well, because I can't even remember which one is the obnoxious biochemist."

Daisy went cold at that. Her own life in danger was one thing, but Fitzsimmons could not deal with this. Still, they stepped out of the crowd. "Fitz knows nothing about biochemistry," Jemma called, bravely standing out of the crowd despite her shaking voice. "Leave him and Daisy be. I'll go with you and we can sort this out."

"No!" Delaney called, and every hand crept closer to their gun. "All three of you are coming with me, or the next thing I liquefy will be the whole Academy." Daisy wondered if Delaney actually could do that, and really didn't want to find out. "Walk here slowly." Fitzsimmons did, leaning on each other for support. As selfish as it was Daisy found herself glad that they were in this mess with her. The three of them could fix things. The three of them surely would fix things, that was just what they do. "Good, now we're leaving, and you're all going to stand here until then. If I see a single person come out of this building I will level it."

Daisy tripped over someone's backpack as Delaney pulled them out the hole. Her eyes burned from the sunlight, but Daisy didn't let it faze her. She kept walking as evenly as possible when someone is dragging you, and kept her reassuring eyes on Fitzsimmons. They'd get out of this. They would.


	38. Chapter 38

I have some bittersweet news. I finished writing this today. It's 55 chapters total, and 73K words, which is a lot. I also have a sequel planned. While technically I have two sequels planned. There is the original one, and then the one Candycrum inspired with a review a couple days ago. I'm going to try and write the one Candycrum prompted because I think it will be more interesting, but I don't know if it will work. Anyway, I'm rambling. Basically you have this fic until January 12th or so, and then I'm not quite sure how the sequel will play out. Anyway, enough of that, enjoy this fic while you have it!

* * *

Chapter 38

Delaney brought them to some underground lab that looked as if it hadn't been used since before even Tony was born. Some of the equipment, however, was brand new, and Daisy realized where the powers came from. "You did this to yourself? Why the Hell would you do that?" Daisy hissed as Delaney tied her and Fitz on either side of a beam. Jemma stood at the lab table, looking over a notebook she'd been handed.

"The serum you created is amazing." Only Jemma could be impressed by the science behind this horrible experience. "But it's raised your body temperature. As the enzymes denature your body is trying to reverse the process by releasing the heat, but it's realizing so much so suddenly you're melting things. It's incredible!" Daisy got most of that from her AP Biology days, but had no idea how Jemma could figure it out so quickly. Then again, it was Jemma. "I can design something to stabilize it, but I have no idea how to reverse the serum's effects completely. I'm sorry."

Delaney didn't look too upset. "Just do it, and then I'll disappear and no one will ever see me again."

Jemma set to work, and it was actually odd how relaxed the room was. They all knew Delaney just wanted to be fixed and never seen again. She didn't want to hurt them, and just was pretending to so her fear didn't show. "Why did you do this Delaney?"

"I was trying to recreate the Captain America super serum, okay?" Delaney snapped. "I found some files, tests run on an unknown sample of blood during the time when the SSR unknowingly had Steve Rodgers blood. I made the connection, and tried to recreate it. But I must have messed something up, because, well, I'm destroying everything and not with my strength."

But why? Why would she want to be like Captain America? (Okay, Daisy knew that was a dumb question. Who wouldn't want to be Captain America? "You're second in the class in everything, why do you need powers?"

"To be first!" Delaney screamed at Daisy. "To be first! None of this would ever have happened if you weren't here, so shut up!" Delaney put her hand through a desk, and began sobbing. Daisy didn't know what to do, none of them did, so they just stayed silent.

Jemma was almost done with the serum and Delaney was almost free when the shot rang out. None of them even had a second to realize they'd been found before they heard it. S.H.I.E.L.D didn't even bother giving Delaney another opportunity to turn herself over. They just found a window and let Delaney take a bullet to the head.

Jemma screamed, and as soon as the agents cut them loose, Daisy and Fitz ran to comfort her. She sobbed into Fitz's shoulder as Daisy stared in horror. She'd seen Natasha kill Vanko, but this, this was different. Vanko was trying to hurt people, Delaney just wanted to be the best, and paid for it with her life. She couldn't even drink. She wasn't even old enough to drink. All she'd wanted was to be a good S.H.I.E.L.D Agent, to be the best S.H.I.E.L.D Agent, and she got rewarded for her hard work with a bullet to the head.

Daisy just wanted to go home, and maybe never come back. In a way Delaney's death was all her fault. If Daisy hadn't come to the Academy Delaney would have been on top. She would have had a promising career, not a hole in the ground. It was so fucking wrong, and Daisy felt sick. S.H.I.E.L.D were the good guys, but they didn't even give Delaney a chance to explain. They just killed her.

"Miss Johnson," Agent McGee's voice broke through Daisy's thoughts, pulling her back to the interrogation room. "I need you to tell me what happened after you left the Academy."

Death happened. "Delaney brought us to some underground lab and tied me and Fitz up. She let Jemma be so she could work… Delaney experimented on herself, trying to become a supersoldier so she could be a better agent." Be a better agent. Be better than Daisy. "Jemma figured out where she went wrong and was working on an antidote. Then you found us and kill…" Daisy couldn't get the words out, and shook her head to clear it. "Well you know."

"Miss Johnson," Agent McGee sounded friendlier than Daisy had ever heard before. "Sometimes we get bad seeds people who, while having good intentions, will go to questionable lengths to succeed. What happened today was incredibly sad, but it happens. You move past it, or you become a bad seed too. So move on."

Daisy didn't really move on. Every night she dreamed of Delaney's death, except sometimes she was the one dying. In another life Daisy could have been Delaney. They both just wanted to help people, to be assets. Daisy had no idea what she would have done if Delaney had been on top, but it probably wouldn't have ended differently. Their weren't fine lines in S.H.I.E.L.D, there were invisible ones. Often times you passes them without thinking.

Everyone avoided Daisy over the final two weeks of the year, especially Jemma. Whenever Daisy tried to approach her friend, during Ops or other times, Jemma would duck her head and walk away. Fitz was always Simmons's friend first, and would only tell Daisy that Jemma was 'having a hard time with what she saw, and couldn't stand the reminder.'

Apparently Daisy was just a reminder.

When Daisy packed her stuff up to leave for the summer, she had a mental breakdown. Beneath a year's worth of trash, laundry, and life, Daisy found a picture of Delaney and her mom, left over from their time as roommates probably. Delaney looked so frigging happy, so frigging alive. It just wasn't fair. And so when Jemma showed up at Daisy's door, she found her friend sobbing in the corner, clutching the photo.

"We didn't even like her," Daisy whimpered as Jemma came to sit down as well. "We hated her really. So why does it hurt so much?"

Jemma shook her head. "I don't know, I've been asking myself the same thing."

"It's not just the trauma, of seeing it." Because Daisy had seen someone die before, and it didn't bother her them. "She just didn't deserve it. She just wanted to serve S.H.I.E.L.D and they killed her."

Jemma nodded, having had the same thought a thousand times over the past two weeks. "I came to tell you that I'm submitting my formal withdrawal from the Academy," Jemma whispered shocking Daisy from her tears. "I can't do this. There are other places that can help me find answers to my questions."

"But who will help us find the answers to ours?" It was such a selfish question; one Daisy knew she shouldn't have asked. She just couldn't help herself. How could Jemma just quit and leave after everything? "I'm sorry, that was mean… Is Fitz going as well?"

Jemma took a moment, but she nodded. "It's so weird. I haven't even known him for a year, yet I can't imagine working without him." It was weird, but Daisy totally got it. "I'm sorry, but I can't stay."

"I've thought about quitting too," Daisy admitted. Hell, she had the paperwork lying in her desk, signed and all. "But every time I go to do it I just think about how unfair it would be, to Delaney."

"How so?"

"She died so I could be number one, as messed up as it is. I feel like I should be the best agent possible, to honor the one she would have been if I hadn't come and mucked everything up."

Daisy could see the wheels turning in Jemma's head, and saw the withdrawal forms on her lap. "I've been thinking that being a part of S.H.I.E.L.D was an insult to Delaney, considering they killed her."

If only their lives were that simple. "They took out a threat," Daisy knew how callous it sounded, but it was true. Delaney had gone mad, and her powers were insane. Even if Jemma had stabilized the powers there was nothing they could do about Delaney's mind. "The real Delaney gave her life in the hopes of helping S.H.I.E.L.D. Whenever I think about quitting I think of that, and know I can't be expected to do any less than she did." Daisy wasn't watching Jemma's face as she finished, she was watching the torn pieces of paper float to the ground.


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter 39

"Welcome home Daisy," J.A.R.V.I.S chimed as she buzzed through the gate. A couple Iron Man groupies attempted to sneak in with her, but Daisy was strong enough to push them back. She was strong enough to do a lot of things these days.

The house sounded silent, and Daisy wondered if her dad was even home. She should have checked her "where is Iron man" app. When Daisy flipped on the light, the whole house burst alive. Tony. Happy, Pepper, and Rhodey all sprung up from where they hid. Streamers burst out of the rafters. Outside Daisy saw literal fireworks.

"You guys are insane," Daisy laughed, but she was beginning to know how the Grinch's heart could grow three sizes. "Thank you, it will be so nice to sleep in a real bed."

Pepper came over to hug Daisy, and her dad did that arm wrap thing which was just as nice. Rhodey just nodded, which was good, because a hug from Rhodey would have been weird.

They celebrated a little, but then went about their ways. There were companies to run, kittens to save, inventions to be built. Daisy settled back into her life at home over the month of June, and wished she never had to go back to the Academy. You would think living with Iron Man would be as fast-pace and intense as it could get, but for Daisy being home was relaxing.

She got a job at Stark Industries because why not. It was quite difficult to secure, because of course she had no contacts, but she managed it. Within her first week Daisy redid the entire security system and traced down a man who hacked in to steal some blueprints.

She was bored. Everyone thought Stark Industries must be a place of excitement and wonder, and perhaps for many it was, but not for Daisy. She'd seen too much to find excitement in the normal world. Being home was relaxing, it helped Daisy forget about Delaney, but it was boring. By her birthday Daisy was just itching for the summer to pass so she could return to the challenges of the Academy. She felt lost without the goal of being the best Agent, and Daisy had been lost for too long.

Daisy woke up on her birthday, and couldn't help but wonder if she was actually eighteen. She had no way of knowing when her exact birthday was, and it freaked her out. Had she really been an adult for days, or was she not even really one? The law considered her an adult now, but was she really?

She had the same debate every year of course, but it was especially odd this year because she was turning 18. Daisy had felt like an adult for a long time, before she even knew her father probably, but it was different, it being official. She wasn't living at home, but her dad had still legally been responsible for her the past year. Not anymore though… not anymore.

"Your father has your present in the living room," J.A.R.V.I.S informed her almost sounding amused. "And Miss Potts has cooked pancakes."

At least she wasn't aging out of the system today. Daisy tried to imagine what her life would be like if she hadn't found that letter. Would they have really given it to her that day, and would she have tried to follow through on it? And would Tony have even cared the same way when she didn't need a legal guardian? She never would have been in S.H.I.E.L.D, or known Fitzsimmons. Everything would be different.

And if that letter hadn't existed at all. Daisy could have been walking out of the orphanage that day with nothing. She'd find some van to live in probably, end up with a crappy abusive boyfriend, maybe figure out code, but maybe not.

Daisy couldn't imagine that, her life without CS. And she didn't want to. Her life with Tony was good. Sure, they had their struggles. A lot of the time it wasn't good, but Daisy's life was better because of him, and Tony was better because of her. They were both happy. They both had a family. They both had a home. It was remarkably nice.

"Happy birthday!" Pepper and Tony cheered as she made her way into the kitchen. J.A.R.V.I.S was correct of course about the food, so Daisy sat down to eat. She scanned the room, looking for this mentioned present, but only saw the Iron Man suit sitting in the corner of the room as it often did whenever her dad didn't feel like putting it away. Besides that though there was nothing, no wrapping paper, no boxes, nothing. J.A.R.V.I.S had been wrong about the present unless… unless he wasn't.

"No," Daisy whispered looking between her dad and the suit. "You're giving me a suit? Why! You never wanted me to have a suit, that was half the reason I joined S.H.I.E.L.D."

Tony smirked, and plopped some pancake in his mouth. "It's still my suit," he reminded with a pointed look. "But I figured you're an adult now, and you've acted like one long enough that you deserve an award."

Daisy couldn't believe it. She'd begged forever for him to build her a suit, and he refused. Now he was actually letting her use him.

"It will probably be a bit loose, but it should be fine. Have fun. "Don't ruin my reputation. Let Iron Girl exist for a day."

Daisy flung her arms around her dad, hugging him tight. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"You're welcome," Tony smiled; glad to see his daughter truly happy. "Now go."

Daisy walked over to the suit, and opened it easily. She knew how it worked; she knew everything about it. "I love you," Daisy's voice sounded so odd through the suit, but still like her own. "I promise I'll bring her back unscratched." And she took off through the open roof.

Flying in the suit was actually harder than Tony made it look. Daisy finally understood all the banging she'd heard when Tony first built it. Luckily Daisy was a quick learner, and had J.A.R.V.I.S offering pointers in her ear.

Once she caught on to the fantastic feeling of flying, Daisy asked J.A.R.V.I.S to turn on the police scanner, unsure how else she was going to find hero things to do. She realized she wasn't ever sure how her father found those impossible situations he always ended up solving. Iron Man was the deus ex machina for many hopeless people, but today Daisy got to be that. Perhaps most people didn't want to spend their birthday working, but Daisy for one day had the best job.

"We've got a 484 and 417 and likely a 136 at the Third Municipal Bank," Daisy heard as she relished the thrill of literally flying. (She wouldn't bother describing it. Flying on your own, even with a suit to support you, it's like living a full life every single moment- there is some discomfort, lots of joy, and just a sense of fullness. "All available units head that way." Daisy didn't know what the police codes meant, but did a flip in the air to go and help.

"Daisy, you realize that is an armed robbery," J.A.R.V.I.S informed her. "Perhaps that is a bit much for your first time out."

Her dad's 'first time out' involved escaping from terrorists; she'd be fine. Besides, he did stuff like this all the time. The gunman would probably wet himself and run away when he saw Iron Man.

He did. Daisy didn't even have to open her mouth and make a snarky Stark comment for him to drop the gun and begin to cry. Iron Man was a force to be reckoned with, and everyone knew it.

The hostages were a bit rattled, but no one had gotten hurt. Daisy was about to leave when she heard crying and noticed a little girl sitting on the ground while her mother stood off to the side talking to police.

"Hey, you're safe now, okay? The bad man is going to jail, and he can't hurt you," Daisy told her, and the little girl looked up in wonder.

"You don't sound like a man," she squeaked out.

Daisy had somehow forgotten that she was in her dad's suit. "That's because I'm not," she admitted lifting the mask. The girl's eyes grew a million sizes, and Daisy put her finger to her lips. "But don't tell anyone, okay? It's a secret. You look like the kind of girl who can keep secrets right?" The girl bobbed her head frantically. "Good, I thought so."

"How can you be a superhero if you're a girl?"

Daisy wondered for a second if she shouldn't have pushed harder to be Iron Girl. Still, she felt like S.H.I.E.L.D made heroes too… just look at Natasha. "Let me tell you another secret since you're so good at keeping them. There are actually a lot of girl superheroes, but we're not like the guys. We don't need anyone to thank us so we do it in secret. There's Iron Girl, and Black Widow and…" Daisy tried to think up with a cool superhero name for Jemma and panicked. "The Doctor." Well, Jemma would approve surely, and she was a doctor. "We just stay secret, okay?"

"I won't tell a soul," the little girl promised sticking out her pinky. "Bye Iron Girl! Tell your friends I said I'm going to be a secret superhero too!"

Daisy couldn't help but wonder if the real good she did at that bank wasn't saving the little girl, but giving her someone to look up to. If every little girl grew up to be a hero, super or not, the world would be a much better place.

Iron Girl took back to the sky, feeling elated. The Academy was training and hard work to do some good. Today Daisy was actually doing it. A part of her wishes this could always be her life, but it was better that it wasn't. The world already had one Stark flying around scaring people shitless; it could use Daisy as a secret superhero.

Still, for one day it was the best gig ever.


	40. Chapter 40

It's not really forgetting if I remember before midnight, right? I still have a whole 28 minutes!

* * *

Chapter 40

Pepper was sad to see Daisy return to the Academy in September, but Tony wasn't. It wasn't that he didn't like having Daisy around, he did, but it was that he knew Daisy wanted to go back to school. She was too restless working at a desk tracing down hacks and mindlessly doing some of her own. She was really too skilled to work at Stark Industries, which was just plain ironic, but true.

And she missed Fitzsimmons. Daisy hadn't even realized how much she relied on her friends while at the Academy. The three of them had seen some pretty terrible stuff together, but they'd been together. Most people would feel like a third wheel to two people as close as them, but not Daisy. They were there for her when she needed them, but they also had each other and didn't need to be around Daisy 24/7. They were there, and they gave her space. It was perfect, and Daisy truly missed them.

They didn't give Daisy a roommate. Maybe they thought her bad roomie skills were responsible for Delaney becoming a mess. Or maybe they just had enough rooms for the second year students to all have singles. Daisy didn't really talk to her fellow Coms students, so she didn't know.

The schedule which Daisy had been emailed was what really confused her. Computer Science for S.H.I.E.L.D Reconnaissance at the Communications Academy made sense enough. So did the Sci-tech/ Coms Operations class at the Communications Academy. What didn't make sense was her third class. Luckily they hadn't insisted on Daisy doing engineering again. She'd gotten by last year with Fitz's help, but her skills obviously lay with software. Yet they still hadn't given her the normal Coms curriculum. No, it appeared she was enrolled in Female Operations at the Operations Academy.

It made no sense. No one but Operations students were supposed to be there. That was why them breaking in last year had been such a big deal! Communications cadets did not go and take classes at the Operations Academy. They just didn't. If they thought Daisy already knew too much CS to take classes in that, fine, but why Operations? It was almost like they were prepping her for being a field agent, but Communications cadets were never really field agents. Maybe they sometimes ended up in the field, but of all the three divisions they were the most likely to end up behind a desk for the rest of their lives.

But wasn't that what Daisy had been so bored doing all summer? She hadn't even thought about it, but it was. All her interesting moments at the Academy could be traced back to things field agents did, not techies. Daisy was a Coms student because those were her skills, but she liked operations a lot. It appeared whoever designed her schedule knew that.

They had combined Ops first thing the next morning, and Daisy was a little worried. She'd run miles every day, trained in the gym with Happy and done everything she could think of to stay in shape, but it wouldn't be enough. Maybe it would be enough for this Ops class considering it was the nerds Ops class, but she'd definitely die over at the Operations Academy. And it was a class with second years, second years who had a year of much more intense training than Daisy ever did, oh for joy!

"Daisy!" Jemma's voice flooded the gym as she ran over to hug her friend. "I missed you so much! Fitz and I were just saying that you have to come with us next summer instead of going back to your dads. You'd love England!" Daisy imagined she would, and would talk to her dad about maybe going. Surely he wouldn't object, he rarely did. And even if he did Daisy could probably go anyway; her job over the summer wasn't exactly paying minimum wage and she was an adult now.

"I'd love to," Daisy promised hugging Fitz despite his weak protests. "Were your breaks good?"

Jemma started rattling off about her work in some lab at Oxford, and Daisy just pretended to understand. She understood that Jemma enjoyed it, and that was really enough. "It's so good to be back though," Jemma finally finished, breathing for what seemed to be the first time. "I can't believe I was going to quit."

Daisy was glad that Jemma was completely past that. Delaney's death would probably haunt them all forever, but that was a part of being a S.H.I.E.L.D agent. They just had to learn to cope with the ghosts, and they were.

"I'm glad you stayed," Daisy smiled back. "So something weird has already happened. I got my schedule last night and…" Daisy cut off as an arrow planted itself in her backpack. She pulled it out quickly, ready to fight, but the shooter was nowhere to be seen. Everyone looked around scared, but it was Daisy who caught sight of him, sitting in the rafters where he'd probably been before any of them walked into the room. "Relax everyone; it's just our new instructor."

No one really relaxed except for Daisy as Clint rappelled down towards them. "Actually your instructor is some boring 4th year Ops Cadet who is late getting back from a summer in Sokovia," Clint corrected winking at Daisy. "I lost a bet with Director Fury and am here as a temporary replacement until your real instructor gets back. I'm Agent Clint Barton. You're supposed to be doing basic strength training to get you back in shape from the break, but I think that's boring. Instead I'm going to teach you all to use a bow, and we'll see just how much strength you have."

One of her foster homes once paid for Daisy to go to summer camp, and so she'd shot a bow and arrow before. But those were crappy ones, designed for kids, not to be used as weapons. The strings on the ones Clint handed them were pulled incredibly tight, and Daisy had to struggle every step of the way to pull it back. Fitz couldn't even manage it at all, and he was part of the majority. And getting the string back was only one step. The targets were set up on a moving rack, and hitting them from 100 yards back would make Olympians sweat. Clint of course could do it without looking, but he shouldn't count.

"I'm from Ohio, by the way." Daisy had absolutely no idea what Clint was talking about when he came over to watch her (abysmal) work. "Nat, she said you lied to her last year." Daisy had almost completely forgotten about that, but smiled at the thought. "Which was impressive by the way. It took her months to figure out how you did it, and she certainly thought about it often. She asked you where the enhanced man was from and you said you didn't know. You were answering for me though, weren't you, not Thor?"

Daisy smirked, and her arrow actually hit the target. (Though not the center.) "I have no idea what you're talking about Agent Barton."

"Of course not, Miss Johnson," Clint's voice was always so sarcastic, and Daisy loved it. "Lift your back arm. It hurts to hold up, but you're bent which makes the arrow bend. Keep yourself flat and just let it fly. Don't over think it." Daisy was one of the few Cadets who didn't over think things, and it contributed largely to her success. So, without thinking, Daisy followed Clint's instructions, and the arrow flew straight.


	41. Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Natasha must have mentioned something to someone, because Agent McGee called Daisy to his office the next day. She worried for a second about being in trouble, and she kind of was for hacking S.H.I.E.L.D, but Agent McGee also requested that she take on the project of encrypting all of S.H.I.E.L.D's files. As he put it "It's becoming increasingly clear that you are the best at hacking, so hopefully you can figure out what anyone else might do to get in."

The only thing was that that meant Daisy had access to every single unredacted file. The files would never be safe if they weren't encrypted by someone (IE Daisy), but that required letting those files not be safe from whoever was encrypting them.

Daisy felt the temptation to read all of them, but she resisted. She reasoned that she always had access to the files because she was so good at hacking and that she hadn't read them then so there was no reason to now. Still, the idea hadn't crossed Daisy's mind then, and it sure as Hell did now.

Which was why the first thing she did was ensure that she couldn't access them. She knew that the temptation was too great. She knew if she didn't put in the protocol and plug in Fury's fingerprint as the only one who could give Daisy access then she would read stuff she wasn't supposed to. Stuff was classified a lot of the time for sanity's sake more than secrecy's, and Daisy had to respect that.

The only files Daisy didn't restrict herself from were the ones about her family. She was curious what S.H.I.E.L.D had on her and her dad, and perhaps the files would help her get to know her grandparents some. Tony hated talking about them, and so Daisy figured this was a perfectly reasonable way to learn about her family without upsetting her dad. It was fair.

And it was certainly fair to read her own file. It wasn't like there could be something in there that she didn't know about.

Howard's file was long. Daisy imagined it would take years to read every single mission report he'd ever written. She got far enough in to realize that yes he really had known Captain America and founded S.H.I.E.L.D and gave up. He seemed like a good guy; Daisy didn't want to read anything that might change that.

Tony's file was much shorter. She wasn't surprised to find out that they'd planned on recruiting Tony for the Academy after he graduated from MIT. She was surprised to find that Howard had forbidden it. By that point he wasn't in charge of S.H.I.E.L.D of course, but his word held sway, and so Tony never knew of his place at Sci-Tech.

Daisy tried to imagine her dad at the Academy, and found it a laughable thought. He was a genius, but not a geek. He'd never have fit in at Sci-Tech where the word party was undefined. Plus, if he'd gone to the Academy Daisy would never have existed. He couldn't have met her mom if he was at the Academy instead of in China. Him not being a part of S.H.I.E.L.D was the reason Daisy was born. Now that, that was an odd thought.

She looked at her own file last, imaging she would already knew everything in it. Scanning it quickly and she did. It included a copy of the voluntary paternity form Tony signed, and a newspaper article about the event. The next thing in it was Coulson's report on the whole Obadiah thing, then Natasha's report on the stuff with Vanko and the recommendation for Daisy to be admitted to the Academy. She also found her grades from kindergarten on, and was shocked by what a terrible student she'd been. How had she let herself achieve so little? How had meeting her dad changed everything so much? It was hard to believe really.

There were a few more items in her file: a report on the whole Thor thing, her report about breaking into Ops, a synopsis of the issue with Delaney, and the form Natasha used to request Daisy be in her class.

She was about to close it and actually do the encrypting she was supposed to when a little footnote caught her eye. Possible connection to **Hunan 0-8-4.**

It was only classification level 3, so Daisy hadn't bothered blocking it from herself. She'd likely graduate from the Academy at least a level 3. The Avengers and Thor were both level 6 and Daisy knew about them. No, it was the 5, 6, 7, 8 Daisy had to stop herself from reading. Something like this, well Daisy never imagined she'd want to read it.

She didn't want to read it. As words like 'dismembered mother' and 'homicidal step-father' passed through Daisy's head she knew she really didn't want to read on, and yet she did.

 **The 0-8-4 has been placed in the care of the nuns of St. Agnes Orphan. It is unsure why the mother did not just place the child in the stepfather's care, and is possible that the mother suspected her husband's instability. More research into subject is unadvised. It is advised to keep the 0-8-4 moving to avoid detection of step-father though it is unsure whether or not he cares for her the way he did the mother.**

 **Case partially resolved, no immediate action suggested.**

Daisy felt ready to be sick. She'd seen people die before, but reading about her mother, her own mother being dissected like a frog… it set her over the edge. And this step-father, the one who'd butchered Daisy's whole town after her mother died, what of him? S.H.I.E.L.D seemed to think he was a threat, that he might come for Daisy, but obviously that wasn't the case. She'd been very public as Daisy Stark; he could have found her. Unless he didn't know of her… unless he had no idea that his step-daughter was Daisy Stark.

Daisy tried to convince herself that this wasn't necessarily real. There were no names in the report, and it had only been listed as a possible connection to Daisy, not a certainty.

But there was one way to know for certain. One call Daisy could make and know if she was this child. This 0-8-4. She didn't even understand how a child could be an 0-8-4. That was S.H.I.E.L.D code for an object of unknown origin, but everyone knew where babies came from. Tony has insisted on giving Daisy the talk despite her already knowing everything from the internet; she knew where babies came from. So how could a baby be an 0-8-4?

None of it made sense to Daisy, but she knew it certainly wouldn't make sense if she didn't make the call.

"Hey Daisy, you settling in well?" Tony asked as he picked up the phone. Daisy went to ask, but the words got caught in her throat. "Daisy, are you there?"

"I'm here," Daisy replied, her voice hoarse. She'd been crying and hadn't even realized it. "I'm here Dad."

"Daisy are you alright? You sound upset."

Of course Daisy was upset, upset and stalling because if she asked then she'd get an answer, and if she got an answer she wouldn't be able to forget it. "My mom, was she, was she from the Hunan province? Do you know if she was she remarried?"

"I don't know if she was married but yes, I think that was where she lived, where you were born. Why? What is this about?"

Daisy didn't answer him; she just hung up and cried.


	42. Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Natasha must have mentioned something to someone, because Agent McGee called Daisy to his office the next day. She worried for a second about being in trouble, and she kind of was for hacking S.H.I.E.L.D, but Agent McGee also requested that she take on the project of encrypting all of S.H.I.E.L.D's files. As he put it "It's becoming increasingly clear that you are the best at hacking, so hopefully you can figure out what anyone else might do to get in."

The only thing was that that meant Daisy had access to every single unredacted file. The files would never be safe if they weren't encrypted by someone (IE Daisy), but that required letting those files not be safe from whoever was encrypting them.

Daisy felt the temptation to read all of them, but she resisted. She reasoned that she always had access to the files because she was so good at hacking and that she hadn't read them then so there was no reason to now. Still, the idea hadn't crossed Daisy's mind then, and it sure as Hell did now.

Which was why the first thing she did was ensure that she couldn't access them. She knew that the temptation was too great. She knew if she didn't put in the protocol and plug in Fury's fingerprint as the only one who could give Daisy access then she would read stuff she wasn't supposed to. Stuff was classified a lot of the time for sanity's sake more than secrecy's, and Daisy had to respect that.

The only files Daisy didn't restrict herself from were the ones about her family. She was curious what S.H.I.E.L.D had on her and her dad, and perhaps the files would help her get to know her grandparents some. Tony hated talking about them, and so Daisy figured this was a perfectly reasonable way to learn about her family without upsetting her dad. It was fair.

And it was certainly fair to read her own file. It wasn't like there could be something in there that she didn't know about.

Howard's file was long. Daisy imagined it would take years to read every single mission report he'd ever written. She got far enough in to realize that yes he really had known Captain America and founded S.H.I.E.L.D and gave up. He seemed like a good guy; Daisy didn't want to read anything that might change that.

Tony's file was much shorter. She wasn't surprised to find out that they'd planned on recruiting Tony for the Academy after he graduated from MIT. She was surprised to find that Howard had forbidden it. By that point he wasn't in charge of S.H.I.E.L.D of course, but his word held sway, and so Tony never knew of his place at Sci-Tech.

Daisy tried to imagine her dad at the Academy, and found it a laughable thought. He was a genius, but not a geek. He'd never have fit in at Sci-Tech where the word party was undefined. Plus, if he'd gone to the Academy Daisy would never have existed. He couldn't have met her mom if he was at the Academy instead of in China. Him not being a part of S.H.I.E.L.D was the reason Daisy was born. Now that, that was an odd thought.

She looked at her own file last, imaging she would already knew everything in it. Scanning it quickly and she did. It included a copy of the voluntary paternity form Tony signed, and a newspaper article about the event. The next thing in it was Coulson's report on the whole Obadiah thing, then Natasha's report on the stuff with Vanko and the recommendation for Daisy to be admitted to the Academy. She also found her grades from kindergarten on, and was shocked by what a terrible student she'd been. How had she let herself achieve so little? How had meeting her dad changed everything so much? It was hard to believe really.

There were a few more items in her file: a report on the whole Thor thing, her report about breaking into Ops, a synopsis of the issue with Delaney, and the form Natasha used to request Daisy be in her class.

She was about to close it and actually do the encrypting she was supposed to when a little footnote caught her eye. Possible connection to **Hunan 0-8-4.**

It was only classification level 3, so Daisy hadn't bothered blocking it from herself. She'd likely graduate from the Academy at least a level 3. The Avengers and Thor were both level 6 and Daisy knew about them. No, it was the 5, 6, 7, 8 Daisy had to stop herself from reading. Something like this, well Daisy never imagined she'd want to read it.

She didn't want to read it. As words like 'dismembered mother' and 'homicidal step-father' passed through Daisy's head she knew she really didn't want to read on, and yet she did.

 **The 0-8-4 has been placed in the care of the nuns of St. Agnes Orphan as per the mother's letter. It is unsure why the mother did not just place the child in the stepfather's care, and is possible that the mother suspected her husband's instability. More research into subject is unadvised. It is advised to keep the 0-8-4 moving to avoid detection of step-father though it is unsure whether or not he cares for her the way he did the mother.**

 **Case partially resolved, no immediate action suggested.**

Daisy felt ready to be sick. She'd seen people die before, but reading about her mother, her own mother being dissected like a frog… it set her over the edge. And this step-father, the one who'd butchered Daisy's whole town after her mother died, what of him? S.H.I.E.L.D seemed to think he was a threat, that he might come for Daisy, but obviously that wasn't the case. She'd been very public as Daisy Stark; he could have found her. Unless he didn't know of her… unless he had no idea that his step-daughter was Daisy Stark.

Daisy tried to convince herself that this wasn't necessarily real. There were no names in the report, and it had only been listed as a possible connection to Daisy, not a certainty.

But there was one way to know for certain. One call Daisy could make and know if she was this child. This 0-8-4. She didn't even understand how a child could be an 0-8-4. That was S.H.I.E.L.D code for an object of unknown origin, but everyone knew where babies came from. Tony has insisted on giving Daisy the talk despite her already knowing everything from the internet; she knew where babies came from. So how could a baby be an 0-8-4?

None of it made sense to Daisy, but she knew it certainly wouldn't make sense if she didn't make the call.

"Hey Daisy, you settling in well?" Tony asked as he picked up the phone. Daisy went to ask, but the words got caught in her throat. "Daisy, are you there?"

"I'm here," Daisy replied, her voice hoarse. She'd been crying and hadn't even realized it. "I'm here Dad."

"Daisy are you alright? You sound upset."

Of course Daisy was upset, upset and stalling because if she asked then she'd get an answer, and if she got an answer she wouldn't be able to forget it. "My mom, was she, was she from the Hunan province? Do you know if she was she remarried?"

"I don't know if she was married but yes, I think that was where she lived, where you were born. Why? What is this about?"

Daisy didn't answer him; she just hung up and cried.


	43. Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Iron Man couldn't get into the S.H.I.E.L.D Academy, but everyone saw him trying. When Daisy hadn't answered her phone, and Tony wasn't sure what the hell was going on he'd flown to the Academy and wasn't leaving until Daisy talked to him. Or so Agent McGee said as he passed on the intruder's message.

"Can't you just tell him I'm alive but just want to be left alone?" Daisy whined, but she crawled out from where she'd been hiding under the covers, and threw on a bra. She knew her dad wouldn't leave until he was 100% sure Daisy was okay, which meant he might never leave because Daisy wasn't even sure she was 100% okay.

She wasn't normal. She didn't know why, she didn't know in what way, but Daisy knew there was something abnormal about her. That was why she'd been marked an 0-8-4.

Her mother was dead. Daisy had known this one for years now, but it was different, reading about it, knowing that she not only predicted her gruesome death but lived it. She was kidnapped and torn to shreds in Austria, over four thousand miles from her home.

Her stepfather was insane. The fact that she even had a stepfather was news enough, but that he'd killed dozens of S.H.I.E.L.D agents-that hurt. Daisy had probably seen their names on the Wall of Valor. She'd walked past their names a thousand times never knowing that she was the reason they were up there and not living their lives. They were dead because of her, and her insane stepfather who may or may not be looking for her.

And S.H.I.E.L.D knew about this all along. Maybe every S.H.I.E.L.D agent she'd met hadn't known. Maybe Coulson didn't do all his reading before contacting Tony. Maybe Natasha never thought to look in Daisy's file. But S.H.I.E.L.D as a whole knew, and no one had ever mentioned it to Daisy. No one ever saw fit to tell her that S.H.I.E.L.D, the organization founded by her grandfather, was there in the beginning of her life, even when she was on the opposite side of the world from her real father.

It was all too much for Daisy to process. She wanted to sleep and then hit things, not talk to her dad. But he was only here because he tried to be a good father and was worried. It wouldn't be fair for her to blow him off just because her whole world was collapsing around her.

Tony was sitting in Agent McGee's office, the suit gone. When Daisy entered color returned to his face, and he hugged her tight. "You're alive. I thought they'd killed you or something."

He really distrusted S.H.I.E.L.D more than reasonable considering they saved both their lives multiple times. "I'm fine dad, I promise. You didn't need to fly here because I hung up on you." His look said he did, and Daisy even managed a smile. "I was just upset. I can't really explain to you the details, okay, not here. I'll explain when I come home for Thanksgiving, by then I'll be ready to talk about it probably."

"It hasn't been a week," Tony reminded her, running his hand through her newly cut hair. "And yet you look decades older. Are you sure you're okay? You can come home if you want, I won't hold it against you."

As much as he understood that Daisy needed to be a part of S.H.I.E.L.D he really didn't like it still, and Daisy found it amusing. "No, I'm here. I need to be here Dad… what I read today just proves that." She had to be here to honor all those who died because of her. If her life was in vain then so were their deaths. "I just need some time to think, okay? I'm fine, so just go home."

Tony could see his daughter wasn't really okay, but there was clearly nothing he could do to fix things. She wasn't broken, she was just a bit bruised, and hopefully she'd heal on her own. "Fine, I'm heading to New York to check up on the tower's construction. If you need me I'll be here in a heartbeat."

He could be on the other side of the world and if Daisy needed him he'd come. Perhaps he wasn't a typical father, but he loved her and protected her more than many fathers did. Daisy knew that and thought it was wonderful. "I'll call if I need you, now go, please, and don't come to school again before people start asking questions."

"Yes Miss Johnson," Tony smirked as Agent McGee entered the room to escort him out. "I'll be waiting to hear from you." And Daisy would call him, later, once her heart stopped feeling as if it was going to break.

In all reality talking to Tony helped Daisy. He'd unknowingly forced her to get out of her funk, and up and about Daisy felt alive again. Still, she was upset. How could she not be upset knowing what she knew? So Daisy did the natural thing; she went to the gym and beat things up.

Daisy was drenched in sweat by the time she was done, but she felt better. She was going to be a S.H.I.E.L.D agent so good and so devoted that all those who died for her weren't gone in vain. She was going to make them all proud.

On her way back to her room, Daisy stopped by the wall of valor. The names in the report were burned in her mind and she found them etched side by side on the wall. They should have been alive, maybe retiring, maybe senior agents, but alive. But they weren't and nothing Daisy did would change that. They'd died so she could live, and so she'd live. She wouldn't let their deaths control her; she'd keep pushing on.

Daisy walked back to her room to finish the encryptions she was supposed to be doing in the first place. She would be an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D if it killed her, which, sadly, was quite a realistic possibility. But Daisy was okay with that. S.H.I.E.L.D Agents had died so she could grow up and be a S.H.I.E.L.D Agent herself, it would only be fair for her to give just as much to S.H.I.E.L.D as they did.


	44. Chapter 44

The chapter you've all been waiting for. Also sorry for not replying to any reviews recently. Fanfiction isn't working properly and I've been struggling.

* * *

Chapter 44

The first half of Daisy's second year was both miserable and exhilarating. While the two classes she took at Coms were easy as pie, Daisy found herself struggling every day in Natasha's class, and she loved it. Every day they danced, and every day they fought, and every day they learned. Natasha seemingly knew everything about being a female operative, and she was surprisingly good at teaching. Daisy wondered if she'd taught this same curriculum to younger girls in the Red Room, but of course never asked. She had been stupid for bringing it up the first time, and Daisy wasn't one to be stupid twice.

The only days Daisy didn't enjoy that class were the ones when Natasha wasn't teaching it. Despite her being officially on temporary field leave there were many days when Natasha was invading some country and not teaching them. On those days the four of them just danced, and while Daisy found herself enjoying the complexities of ballet it were the skills only Natasha could teach that she really enjoyed.

And so the first half of the year passed without incident. Daisy never forgot what she read, but she used it to focus her determination the same way she'd used Delaney. The people who'd died were reason to fight on, and Daisy never forgot it.

She'd never ended up telling Tony at Thanksgiving, and he didn't ask. He understood that she'd bring it up if she wanted to tell him, and she didn't bring it up. Daisy didn't feel like telling him about how horribly Ji-Ying had died. She might be Daisy's mom, but Tony was the one who really knew her. It would be hard to know that she died in pain. Daisy didn't want to put that on him. He protected her; she could do the same thing for him.

On the 23rd Tony had to go into the office, and of course left his wallet at home. Daisy wasn't sure why he even needed his wallet, but she agreed to go bring it to him. She hadn't been to Stark Industries since the summer ended, and found herself wandering about to see what new projects were being worked on.

"Oh sorry Miss I didn't see you there," a familiar voice apologized after ramming into Daisy. Daisy helped pick up the girl's notebooks, and stared in shock when their eyes met. It was Jemma.

"Oh, Daisy, there you are I thought you were bringing me my wallet," Tony called from behind them, and Daisy stared at horror. Why was Jemma working at Stark Industries? Why did her dad have to show up in that exact moment? "Oh, I see you met our new Biochemist. Where's your little engineer friend?"

"Oh, Michael?" Jemma replied looking panicked and unsure. Daisy didn't blame her; she was unsure as well. "Um, he's with the others. I was just grabbing some notebooks, sir."

Tony nodded, "Say Daisy, why don't you go and meet those others. Miss Duke here is part of a team Pepper and I put together. They're young, but almost as brilliant as you." Daisy blushed, and Tony smiled. "Oh, but give me my wallet first."

Daisy handed it over, her hands shaking. Why were Jemma and presumably Fitz undercover at Stark Industries? If S.H.I.E.L.D wanted to know what was happening there why not just ask Daisy? Unless they thought there was something going on she wouldn't tell them about to protect her dad.

"I'll see you at home," Tony waved as he went back to whatever he was doing and left Daisy to face the music.

"I can explain," Daisy whispered studying Jemma's face and knowing she was pissed. "I wanted to tell you, but there was just never a good time."

Jemma didn't believe that. She was too smart to believe that. "You had a year Daisy. We've known you for over a year, and all you ever said was that your mom was dead and your dad works a lot."

"Well it's true!"

"Your dad is Tony Stark Daisy," Jemma had never sounded so mad in all the time Daisy knew her. "You worked at Stark Industries this summer because your dad is Tony Stark. That's how you know so many people in S.H.I.E.L.D, your grandfather founded it!"

Daisy felt like Jemma's personal punching bag, and knew she deserved it. "I'm sorry, okay? It wasn't that I didn't trust you it was that I didn't want you looking at me like that. I didn't want to just be Iron Man's daughter, I wanted to be my own person."

"Well you succeeded at that," Jemma spit back. "And the person you defined yourself as is a liar."

Daisy had imagined Fitz would react the worse, never Jemma. Jemma was always so nice. "I tried to tell you so many times, but I just couldn't. I'm sorry, don't hate me."

"I don't hate you Daisy," Jemma softened, sounding more like herself. "But I'm upset. And Fitz will be too!"

Daisy felt like going home and crawling in bed, but she nodded. "And you both should be angry. You were my friends and I didn't tell you. Just… just let me go with you so I can explain myself. I want to be able to tell him sorry."

"Of course, just so you know there are a few other Sci-tech kids with us." Oh great. Fitzsimmons, as angry as they might be wouldn't tell the whole school about Daisy's other life, but these other kids would. So much for Daisy Johnson, by the time school started again everyone would know she was really just a lying version of Daisy Stark.

Tony must have really believed in them because he set them up in a private lab. Daisy saw Fitz working with another engineering student, Tom Mecellen, and Aubrey Spencer, a physicist if Daisy remembered right, was working on one of the computers. None of them looked up when Daisy and Jemma entered, so Daisy just made her way over to Fitz as quietly as she could.

"Oh Jemma, I've been working on this…"

"You shouldn't use her real name, my dad has cameras everywhere."

Fitz looked up at that, and stared at Daisy his super-brain working fast. "Daisy? What are you doing here? And what do you mean your dad? I didn't know he worked here. I didn't even know you still worked here."

Fitz was brilliant, but also way too trusting for a future spy scientist. "Fitz, I don't still work here. I'm here because my dad asked me to bring him his wallet and he works here."

"Why does Jemma look so upset then?"

"Because she just met my dad… and he's your boss… Fitz, I don't know how to say this but, well I've been lying to you. My dad and I actually do get along, and well he's kinda Tony Stark." Honestly Daisy hated the way it came out, but there was no better way to say it. She was a liar. Her dad was Tony Stark. That was about it. "Look, I'm really sorry for lying to you I just didn't…"

"You didn't want people thinking you were only at the Academy because of your dad, yeah I get it." Wait, what? Jemma was mad and Fitz wasn't? Daisy had expected the opposite. Then again, Daisy was never quite sure what would upset Fitz and what wouldn't. "That was why we met, because they put you in engineering since he's good at it and they wanted you to be as well."

Daisy nodded, glad that he was being so understanding, despite being confused by the same thing. "You're not mad?'

"I wish you'd told me, yeah," Fitz replied working without taking a second to stop and look at her. "But I get why you wouldn't. You were afraid. I've lied to friends before because I was afraid, so I'm not mad."

Daisy was glad for that. Fitz not being upset seemed to make Jemma relax as well. "And yes, I just said I'm Tony Stark's daughter, so you can go and tell everyone at the Academy that I'm only the top of the class because of favoritism or whatever," Daisy told Tom and Aubrey who'd obviously been listening in. "I don't even care at this point. It's good to not have to lie anymore." Tom and Aubrey didn't say anything. It's hard to know what to say when you're called out like that. "Why are you here though? I don't understand."

Jemma paled. "Look, Daisy, we didn't know he was your dad… and I don't want you to find out this way but… Well S.H.I.E.L.D thinks he's building an army of suits."

"He is," Daisy replied with a laugh. It wasn't exactly a secret mission to take over the earth. S.H.I.E.L.D could have just asked her and she would have gladly said so. "It's called the Iron legion. Hell, I suggested it myself after seeing Vanko try to do it."

Jemma and Fitz exchanged a look. "Why did you tell your dad to built an army of drones?"

"Well it's too few to really be an army, but look my dad has control of them. There isn't much he can't do with one suit that he can do with a half dozen, so it's no big deal." Jemma and Fitz didn't seem to think so, but they trusted Daisy despite just having discovered her huge lie. "Look, who told you to come here, was it Agent Weever? Because I'll call her right now and tell her that if S.H.I.E.L.D wants to know what Stark Industries is doing they can either just ask me or make an appointment to see themselves. We have nothing to hide."

Daisy hadn't meant for it to come out so defensive, but it did. Why did people think her dad was going to do something evil? He was a hero, and S.H.I.E.L.D knew that. Just because they didn't want him to be an Avenger that didn't make him any less of a hero. He was just a hero who worked alone.

Fitz finally was the one to respond. "I'll call her."

"Hi, Agent Weever?" Daisy said once the woman picked up the phone. "It's Daisy Stark. Look, yes my dad is building drones, but they're just designed to help him protect people. You're welcome to continue sending agents to infiltrate us, but perhaps they shouldn't be ones I've gone to school with for two years."

"S.H.I.E.L.D has complete faith in your father as Iron Man," Agent Weever responded sounding amused. "What we were unsure of was how you and the others would respond to the situation." Holy shit it was a test and Daisy was pretty sure she'd just failed. "An undercover agent might come across another undercover agent in the field, and both have to respond appropriately."

Daisy felt like hitting her head against a wall. She'd failed. She should have just gone on with her cover and not told the truth.

No, that wasn't fair. Fitzsimmons knew they were on a mission, Daisy didn't. Daisy was supposed to be on break. It was unfair for them to judge her based on that.

But still she shouldn't have responded as she did. An agent was always an agent even when not on duty. She could run into Coulson in a coffee shop and if he was undercover she'd get him killed by talking to him. Daisy should have known better.

"We're probably all failing Ops right about now," Daisy sighed hanging up the phone and handing it back to Fitz. "But come on, you're coming to meet my dad."

Tony was impressed by Fitzsimmons. (Aubrey and Tom left to go celebrate Christmas with their families.) "Why do I keep hiring S.H.I.E.L.D agents?" Tony asked Daisy that night as they decorated the tree. "Are you just secretly everywhere?"

Well kinda. That was sorta the point. "You're just attracted to our exceptional skills, that's all."

Tony chuckled at that, but didn't deny it. "So are they on the next plane home now that you ruined their covers?"

Look at him using all the fancy S.H.I.E.L.D terminology. Daisy was so proud. "I actually think they're not going home. They're at a hotel I think."

"You're letting your only friends spend Christmas in a hotel?" Tony rebuked as if he hadn't spent a dozen Christmases alone in hotel rooms. (Okay, he was probably never alone, but Daisy still didn't like to think about that.) "Invite them over, Pepper and Rhodey will be glad to meet them."

Yeah but would they be glad to meet Pepper and Rhodey? Daisy wasn't sure, but she did feel bad not offering. "Daisy?"

"Hey," she replied once Fitz answered the phone. "So, I figured you might as well finish your mission and see the Iron Legion yourself. And my dad wants you and Jemma to come over for Christmas if you're not going home."

"You want me to have Christmas with Tony Stark?" Fitz idolized the brilliant engineer, and Daisy could hear it in his voice.

"Actually I want you to spend Christmas with my family," Daisy admitted glad that her S.H.I.E.L.D family could get to know her real family. "But yeah, I guess that includes watching Tony Stark cut a turkey."

Fitz didn't reply, but Daisy heard him call to Jemma, "Come on, we're going to Daisy's," and she'd never been happier to fail a test.


	45. Chapter 45

Chapter 45

Daisy's grade didn't really suffer because of the incident, but her thighs did. While everyone else worked on Swan Lake Natasha made Daisy do squats, for two hours. She felt like dying in the end, and when she said so aloud Natasha just gave that look and said "Good because in a real situation that would be exactly what happened to your friends."

Yeah, Nat could be real sweet when she wanted to be.

Still life went on. Jemma was wary of Daisy at first, but their bond quickly healed stronger than ever. Daisy was still exceptional at all her classes but Natasha's, and surviving in that one. Everything was good.

Until the day she walked back from Ops class to find a half dozen S.H.I.E.L.D agents with their guns pointed at her. "Hey, what's going on?"

"Put your hands up Stark," one of them, who looked as if he could still be a cadet, demanded. "We don't want to shoot you but if you move we will."

A part of Daisy wanted to comment that if she put her hands up that was moving, but she was too confused to be snarky. "Okay, okay, I'm putting my hands up. Can I know what I did that I'm about to get shot for?"

"You were tasked with encrypting S.H.I.E.L.D files and read them." Oh shit Daisy was in trouble. "You're to be brought to the Sandbox for questioning."

Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit.

Daisy cooperated with the agent, allowing them to cuff her. When they tried to bag her head though she couldn't help yourself. "I thought I read all of S.H.I.E.L.D's classified files. Doesn't that mean I already know where the Sandbox is?" They still bagged her, and 'accidentally' elbowed her while doing it.

The interrogation room they left Daisy in was simple, and she thought of a million ways she could escape. She had a bobby pin on her bra she could use to open her cuffs, and their metal would be a dangerous weapon to whoever opened the door next. She could grab that agent's gun an badge, keep her head down enough to make it out of the facility without having to shoot too many people.

Daisy could escape and she knew it, but she made no move to try to. She was actually guilty of the crime she'd committed. She'd confess to the files she read, swore she hadn't read the files she hadn't, and take whatever punishment they gave her. If that meant life in the sandbox… well she only felt bad for S.H.I.E.L.D as the enemy of Iron Man. Daisy would deserve it.

They left Daisy alone for hours, a tactic she knew was meant to drive her insane. Well it was working. Daisy attempted to put herself in a state of relaxation, but she just couldn't do it. As resigned as she was to admit to what she'd done, she was nervous about what they'd do to her. She really didn't want to spend the rest of her life locked in a windowless cell.

Finally someone opened the door, and Daisy wasn't too surprised to find out it was Coulson. Of course they'd send someone she trusted, someone she liked. Daisy was scared of Natasha. She was amused by Clint. She liked Coulson. The look of disappointment on his face almost broke her.

"How long it took us to figure out is testament to how good you are Daisy, how good an agent you could have been," Coulson sighed sitting down across from her. "Fury wants me to find out if you shared the information with anyone, if you told anyone, including your dad, what was in those files."

Daisy shook her head frantically. "No, I swear I didn't even tell my dad. And I didn't read many, I swear I just read a little bit of Howard Stark's and then my dad and mine and the footnote on mine led me to read about the Hunan 0-8-4 so I read that… and I know it's me because I asked my dad if that was where I'm from but I didn't read anything that wasn't about me and my family I swear. I was joking about knowing where the Sandbox was."

"You shouldn't have read anything," Coulson reminded her and Daisy hung her head. She knew that and was just so curious she fucked everything up. "We need you to call your father. We don't need Iron Man saying we kidnapped his daughter and busting down our doors." Coulson slid her a phone, and Daisy dialed the number the best she could.

"What am I going to tell him?" Daisy asked before hitting dial. "I don't want to accidentally spill S.H.I.E.L.D secrets. I might have screwed myself over but I don't want to screw S.H.I.E.L.D. It was stupid but I didn't do it to hurt you."

Coulson seemed to understand that, hence why he wasn't mad. Still, Daisy knew as a fact that he was disappointed in her and that hurt a hell of a lot more. "Tell him what you did and that you will be given a hearing before a tribunal of S.H.I.E.L.D agents," Coulson replied standing up. He was at the door before he finished speaking. "And I would suggest, as someone who cares about you, that you tell him goodbye, because you'll probably never see him again."

Daisy wanted to cry, and probably would have if she hadn't noticed the chip in the phone case. She had no idea what it did, but suspected that Coulson planted it there for a reason. He'd said he cared about her; maybe he was giving her a chance to escape.

Daisy knew she should face the punishment for what she did, but she also suspected she wouldn't face the punishment for what she did. She'd be in way more trouble than was fair. She'd spend the rest of her life alone.

Daisy couldn't do it. She believed in S.H.I.E.L.D and its intentions, but she couldn't do it. Coulson must have thought that what would happen to Daisy would be wrong or he wouldn't have given her a way to escape. If Coulson thought her running, disappearing, was right, then so did Daisy. But she wouldn't be able to go to her dad. She'd have to disappear if she made it out, and if she got shot… So Daisy, unable to hear his voice one more time knowing she was leaving it no matter what, just wrote up a text.

 **I will always love you. Thank you for the wonderful life you gave me. Love, Daisy.**


	46. Chapter 46

Chapter 46

The chip opened the door, but as Daisy suspected there was a guard right outside. Without giving herself time to think about what a terrible idea it was, Daisy acted and disarmed him, probably breaking her leg while doing so. Then she took the gun and run.

Daisy tucked the gun away and acted like she was supposed to be free. She walked with her eyes down blending in with those who worked at the facility. She knew how to act like a member of S.H.I.E.L.D, and so she did. She made it to the stairway without another incident because of that.

But when she reached the stairs an alarm began to blare and Daisy heard thundering footsteps. She flipped herself over the railing, and hung for dear life as they passed not even noticing her fingertips as they stepped on them. Daisy was fairly certain she had multiple broken fingers, but she sucked in the pain. Natasha had been training Daisy for months to get out of situations just like this. Granted Daisy never figured S.H.I.E.L.D would be the enemy, but it had always been a possibility. There was always the possibility of anyone being the enemy.

Daisy pulled herself back onto the stairs and through the railing, cringing at the searing pain in her hands. She wouldn't even be able to pull the trigger on the gun if she wanted to, but she put it in her hands. They didn't need to know she couldn't and wouldn't pull the trigger. Perhaps they'd be scared.

In all actuality holding the gun probably made Daisy more likely to get shot, but it gave her the sense of security she needed to run down the stairs. On level 3 she finally found a window, albeit a small one, and peered out.

There was nothing underneath but cement, but she would probably be fine. More broken than she already was, but fine. What then though? She could see the patrols around the gate. Maybe she could slip her way into the back of one of the trucks, ride out with them. It was a terrible plan and Natasha would be insulted, but Daisy figured it was as good as any. She'd be injured after the jump; it wasn't like she could just run away.

Daisy was surprised that she didn't even have to buck up the courage to make the jump; she already had it. She slipped through the window, let go of the rail, and fell.

Her ankle cracked on impact, and Daisy stumbled forward. She managed to stay on her feet though, and ducked behind a dumpster before a truck passed. That was when she got the idea. Daisy slipped into the dumpster and began to wait. There were enough half-empty water bottles to tide her over until the garbage truck came, even if it was on a week's rotation. If it didn't come within a week… well hopefully by then they will have assumed she was off site and loosened security.

They emptied Daisy into the garbage truck two days later, or so she thought. Time was hard for her because she kept falling asleep and waking up to the darkness of the dumpster. Still, the point was that they did empty the garbage, and Daisy found her way out of the gate.

She had no idea where she was, but wandered down the road to find out. She found a stick to use as a cane, and limped her way down the road. A couple trucks tried to pick her up, but Daisy didn't let them. One didn't want to leave at first, but Daisy showed him the gun sitting in her pocket. He disappeared down the road after that.

It turned out that the Sandbox, or wherever they brought her to, was in Washington. Daisy wondered if S.H.I.E.L.D had much influence in Canada, and decided that was her best bed. She slept on the side of the road and scrounged through trashcans for food. Every once in a while she'd pass a store with a newspaper in the widow and see her face staring back. Everyone was looking for Daisy Stark. She imagined Pepper and her dad were frantic, and felt terrible for not reaching out to them. She just couldn't though. She couldn't be found. They'd be far more upset if they knew Daisy was locked up in a S.H.I.E.L.D facility than not knowing at all.

For a week Daisy trudged along like that, half dead, completely delirious, but focused on making it to Vancouver. S.H.I.E.L.D would have a harder time finding her there; she knew it. If she could just make it to the city she'd be able to create a fake ID, get a job, live her life. Maybe in a while things would quiet down enough for Daisy to feel safe calling her dad, telling him what happened. Maybe she'd even get to see him again, in a few years. She could hide from S.H.I.E.L.D forever. It had to be possible.

Daisy just wished it wasn't necessary.

She made it into Canada easily. It was the world's longest border, impossible to patrol completely, and not the type anyone cared if you hopped. She made it to Vancouver, and found all she needed to create a new identity. She went with the name Skye Stork, afraid that even keeping her first name could bring trouble. As for the last name… well it was probably too close for comfort but Daisy just couldn't bring herself to forget her family completely.

She even dyed her hair after a run in with the police. Apparently S.H.I.E.L.D got her on a criminal watch list that extended all the way to Canada. She didn't understand why they cared so much. Surely if they'd figured out she read some files they knew what she read. She really didn't know too much she shouldn't have and what she did know was only fair considering it pertained to her. Sure, she'd broken the rules, but why did they care so freaking much about her for a little bit of broken rules?

It clicked in Daisy's mind that they probably didn't care because she broke rules. They cared because she was an 0-8-4. S.H.I.E.L.D always knew where she was. Her whole life S.H.I.E.L.D had been tracking her, keeping an eye on the 0-8-4 so many died for. Now they'd lost her, and apparently it was unacceptable. They wanted her back, and Daisy wasn't letting them get her.

Until she did.

Daisy hid well, really and truly she did, but only because she'd been taught. Of course Natasha would be able to find the little alleyway Daisy was sleeping in. Of course Natasha would be there the night Daisy managed to get herself a job. Of course Natasha would be there in the end.

"You look like Hell," Natasha noted scanning Daisy. "Granted you're better off than Emma. She got out of the building, but only with a bullet in her leg."

What?

Natasha smirked. "Come on Daisy, did you honestly think it took us six months to realize you read those files? They were just a good reason to bring you in. We had to plant drugs in Renee's room she was so clean."

"It was a test." Daisy felt sick. It had all been one huge test. How could it have just been a test? "You're telling me that this was a test! You put my family through Hell worrying about me. You put my face on the cover of every newspaper on the west coast, for a test?"

"Yes." Natasha didn't even seem to realize how ridiculous it was. "And I'm not going to apologize for it. Granted we didn't technically report you missing, your father did, but we did allow him to think you were missing. It could happen. You could be running from everyone because of how much your dad cared. You needed to be prepared."

Daisy really didn't feel prepared, she felt sick. "Give me a damn phone I'm calling my dad," she growled as Natasha led her to a van. "And you better hope you have a good cover story concocted, because I'm a pretty damn public figure."

"And yet you manage to slip through the notice of those who in the proper context would know your face, it's an important skill." Any other time Daisy would have done anything for Natasha's praise, but right now she just wanted to call her dad. "And you can talk to him in person because I'm bringing you home to rest for the weekend."

Fine. It would be easier to explain in person anyway. Plus he'd only be satisfied seeing her alive, not trusting even her voice. Content to be going home, Daisy slouched in her seat, not wanting to talk to Natasha. She understood why the woman did things like this, but Daisy hated it. She hated the games of S.H.I.E.L.D.

"I'm surprised you're not asking the real question," Natasha voiced as they headed down the interstate. Daisy didn't even look up, so Natasha continued. "Have I read your files? The answer is yes, I have. Now you're probably wondering if I only work you so hard because you're an 0-8-4. I didn't read your file until after we met, after I'd recommended you for S.H.I.E.L.D. Fury showed it to me wanting to know if it changed my recommendation, and I told him no. I don't understand how a person can be an 0-8-4, but I understand that you want to help people and are a talented operative. That's why I work you."

Daisy snuggled tighter into the seat, but finally spoke. "Good to know that you put me through Hell because I want to help people. It really makes me want to be a better person."

Natasha turned her eyes away from the road, but neither of them thought for a second she'd crash because she was looking at Daisy. "Helping other people is always Hell. You think what you read about the Red Room was bad, well it wasn't, not for me. It was after Clint recruited me for S.H.I.E.L.D that I knew what it was like to live in Hell. If you're hoping that you're going to feel good while saving people you've dumber than you look."

"I didn't help anyone by being on the run for weeks and worrying my family."

"I don't agree, I think you helped yourself. Now you know you can do it, you can truly survive on your own with anyone, even S.H.I.E.L.D as your enemy. That will help you someday, even if you can't see how now. There comes a time for us all when those we trust and work for is our enemy. We'll either die in S.H.I.E.L.D or running from it. I taught you that the latter is an option and so I consider my work done. Good thing too because you're not going to be able to dance on that ankle for a while."

Daisy wondered if there were any bones in her fingers left to break if she punched Natasha, but decided against it. Natasha was just trying to make Daisy as skilled as she was, and pain was the only way Natasha knew how to make someone stronger.


	47. Chapter 47

Fanfiction still won't let me reply to reviews, but I promise I'm reading them. (And enjoying your anger.)

* * *

Chapter 47

Natasha dropped Daisy off at home and left. Tony wouldn't be too friendly if she was there when Daisy explained. Hell, Daisy was going to have to talk her dad out of an anti-S.H.I.E.L.D crusade as it was. He was so not going to be amused by the training exercise. Daisy wasn't amused either, but she understood it. She knew Natasha was just trying to keep them all alive, but still, it had been Hell. And it was Hell to limp her way up to the front door and let herself in.

Tony, Pepper, and Rhodey stood in the living room, and turned when they saw Daisy. Pepper immediately burst into tears, and Daisy joined her. She just wanted to go to bed and cry for a week straight.

"Hey, hey it's okay," Tony whispered pulling Daisy into a tight hug. "I promise it's going to be okay. I'll make whoever did this pay."

Daisy shook her head frantically as he led her to the couch. "No, no it was just a misunderstanding… you have to promise not to get mad."

"I'm not going to be mad at you Daisy, I'm going to be mad at whoever did this to you. Whatever you did that doesn't make this your fault."

But it was. She'd signed up for it when she agreed not to leave Natasha's class when she had the chance. "It's no one's fault. I just… I've been taking a class with Agent Romanoff." It seemed to take a minute for her dad to recognize the name, but it was clear in his eyes when he did. "She's the best agent I've ever met and she wants to keep us alive. She… she planned a training exercise to test our skills against S.H.I.E.L.D… I jumped out a window… I disappeared before they could tell me it was all fake and made it worse for myself. Really it was my own stupidity."

Tony clearly didn't know how to respond to that news, but Pepper just looked horrified. "I should have strangled that woman when I had the chance."

"It's really not Nat's fault." Okay, it was, but she only did it for their sake. Now Daisy knew what it felt like to be an enemy of S.H.I.E.L.D. She knew how to respond to it. That could very well save her life someday, it really could. "I was stupid, hurt myself. Not a single agent touched me, I promise." And it was the truth. Only their boots had touched Daisy's very delicate fingers.

"You should be angry with them," Tony finally sighed grabbing his keys. "Yet you're not. Why are you so loyal to S.H.I.E.L.D? Why would you even think about going back after what they did?"

Daisy didn't know. In all honesty she'd been debating whether or not she did want to go back the whole ride from Vancouver. For the first time she'd been really and truly hurt while at the Academy, and it was terrifying. Daisy didn't know if she could face it again.

But at the same time, she needed to go back. Not just for those who died so she could get this far, but for herself. As terrifying as being an agent could be it was also invigorating. Daisy couldn't just go back to life. She couldn't just work for her dad, become CEO someday. That couldn't be her life. She had to be a part of S.H.I.E.L.D.

But she wasn't sure she could go back to being a part of S.H.I.E.L.D by Monday.

Her dad took her to the hospital, where they confirmed she had six broken fingers and a broken ankle. The doctors straightened her up the best they could, and Daisy couldn't help but wonder if the cast would get her out of Ops class for the 6-8 weeks it would take to heal. That would basically bring her to the end of the school year, the end of Ops in general. If she actually had to sit out all that time she'd never participate in class again… it was an odd thought.

Once she was cleared to go Tony drove her home, silent the whole ride. It was only after he picked her up and physically put her in bed that Daisy decided she needed to know what was going through his head. "Tell me what you're thinking."

"I'm thinking I'd like to test out the Iron Legion on that school of yours," Tony admitted sitting down on the edge of the bed. His position was pulling the sheets tight and they twisted Daisy's ankle, but she didn't mention the pain. He'd feel bad, and she didn't want that. "And I'm thinking I should never have let you go in the first place. I'm thinking I shouldn't have hired 'Natalie Rushman' or let Agent Coulson help us with Stane."

"You know it's your huge ego that makes you take responsibility for everything," Daisy teased knowing too much seriousness and he wouldn't listen. "If we hadn't had S.H.I.E.L.D in our lives Obadiah would have killed Pepper for sure, me probably, you as well. Natasha stopped Vanko too, before he could do something terrible at the Expo. And it was S.H.I.E.L.D who got you to get rid of the palladium, I owe them your life."

"Is that why you insist on working for them?" He knew that wasn't why, they both did, so he didn't even wait for a response. "No, it's just because you're too good. You're the one who should be the hero, Daisy, not me."

She smiled at that. Using his suit had been so damn fun, but that wasn't who Daisy was. He was the man of the light, always in the eye of the public. Daisy preferred to be in the shadows, sheilding people from harm before they even knew there was a danger. That was why she'd go back to the Academy. Maybe not that Monday, but certainly in the end.

"When I got your text I was terrified," Tony admitted with a sigh. "A few years ago I would never have imagined I could ever be that scared. Losing you… it would kill me Daisy. I don't ever want to see you limping in here again. If you have to be with S.H.I.E.L.D then please, can't you at least stay out of the field?"

She wished she could promise she'd never get hurt again, but she couldn't. That just wasn't the life she needed to live. The life she needed was full of danger, and triumph, and loss. It was the life of an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D, and it was as good as it was painful. "Dad, I need you to promise me that you'll never react like that again. It was bad enough trying to hide from S.H.I.E.L.D, but you panicking, putting my face in newspapers, that just made it more difficult. I need you to promise me that no matter what kind of text you get you'll never tell the press again, and you won't let Pepper either. If something was to go wrong I want to be able to say goodbye, but if you can't promise me it will stay a secret I won't be able to do that."

"I promise," Tony answered, hopefully meaning it. "I won't panic. Please don't ever have to say goodbye again though… I don't want to lose you."

She wanted to promise that he wouldn't, but she couldn't say that. Just like he couldn't promise that one day Iron Man wouldn't face someone just a little bit too strong for him. All they could hope for was that they'd be given the chance to say goodbye. "Night Dad."

"Goodnight Daisy," he replied, getting up to turn off her light. "I love you."


	48. Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Tony drove her back to school that Monday, mostly so he could convince her to take more time off. She wanted to go back though. She'd dyed her hair back to its natural color. (Mostly, she couldn't get it perfect, which was sad.) She'd done the homework she could find for her CS class. She'd stayed up all night trying to rationalize not going back and failed. She couldn't miss more school, and she needed to be there. She didn't want it to look like she was quitting just because of one miserable mission.

So she went back, despite the wonderful excuses her dad was offering. She went back despite Pepper's fretting and the crutches. She went back because if you don't get back on the horse right away, there is a high probability that you never will.

"I'll be fine," Daisy promised her dad planting a kiss on his cheek just to freak him out. "Stay safe yourself Mr. Superhero."

"Go," he chuckled and Daisy smirked. She'd finally gotten him to approve of her returning to school, if accidentally. "And don't think I don't know what you did there."

Daisy laughed as she crutched away and back towards her dorm. She couldn't help but remember that the last time she made the trip she'd been arrested and put through a week of Hell. It was enough to make her pause, but for no more than a moment. She was back, and back she would stay.

People stared as Daisy made her way to her room, but she didn't mind. People could think what they wanted; Daisy would still be the only one of them who really knew what it meant to be an agent. Who knew what the price sometimes was. That would help her someday

When Daisy opened her door, she was toppled over by a hugging Brit. "Oh Daisy I'm so sorry!" Jemma cried helping her injured friend back up. "Fitz and I are just so glad to see you. We were told you were an enemy of S.H.I.E.L.D, and the newspapers said you'd been kidnapped!"

Wow, so even her classmates hadn't been told the truth yet. No wonder everyone was staring. "It was a training exercise for Agent Romanoff's class. This way we could be prepared if we ever were to fight S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Is that a likely possibility?" Fitz asked probably imagining what he'd do in that case. Daisy knew what he'd do. He'd run to Jemma and do anything to save her. "Why is that something you would train for?"

Because Natasha knew what it meant to go rouge from the organization that trained you. "It's just the kind of thing we do. Honestly, I know I look terrible and it sucked, but I feel prepared now, you know? I'll be able to handle the real job better for it."

"So you're set on a Field Assignment after this year?"

Daisy didn't even know how to answer Jemma's question. She'd never really considered that she might have an option. "I'll probably end up with one. You should try to get one as well. The world has plenty of good people in labs, sometimes it needs those good people to actually be out in the bad world."

Fitz didn't look too excited at the prospect of being in the field, but Jemma did. She looked as if all her dreams were coming true. "Well you should get some sleep. You look beat."

"I have classes the same as you," Daisy sighed grabbing her stuff to go to the Coms/Sci-tech Ops class. She wondered if she could get extra credit, but doubted it. No, she'd probably just be docked for not being in class.

She was, and same in Coms. It didn't seem to matter to anyone that she hadn't really been given an option, but Daisy didn't fight it. Things weren't fair in the real world, and the Academy was just trying to teach her that.

The class Daisy was truly scared to go to was Natasha's though. What state would the others be in? Natasha said Emma had been shot in the leg, was she okay? What about Sherra and Renee? And what did they think of Daisy's escape? What were they even going to be doing in class when at least half of them were injured?

Daisy got her answer because of the projector in the room. Natasha, Emma, and Sharra sat silently, not looking up when Daisy entered. "Where's Renee?"

"She's out of the class," Natasha answered blankly as Daisy crutched over to her seat. "She didn't even use the chip and try to escape. I've already wasted seven months on her, I'm not wasting two more." Harsh, and a typical thing to hear from Natasha. "If you don't have a healthy sense of self-preservation there is nothing I can teach you that won't result in you getting shot."

Emma was blushing, but none of them said anything. Daisy had the most broken bones. Emma has a bullet hole. And Sharra, well she was bruised beyond compare. All three of them had been through Hell, and they understood each other better than they always had. Up until that moment they'd never really accepted Daisy, but they most certainly did then.

"Okay, let's start with Sharra," Natasha announced turning on the screen. Daisy watched as images of Sharra returning to her dorm and being taken in for questioning about some stolen guns. She didn't even wait to get taken to wherever, but attacked the guards. She managed to disarm them all too before she took off running towards the fence. Daisy was impressed by the way she vaulted over the fence, not so much by the way Sharra landed and knocked herself out.

"Okay, you need to hold the chains from under more," Natasha pointed out, sounding like a real, bonafide teacher. "Then you'll get more thrust and land on your feet. You probably could have gotten away completely if you hadn't fallen."

They watched Emma's clip next. She escaped from the room the same way Daisy had and even made it out of the building without any trouble. It was when she snuck through the fence that the guards caught her with a bullet to the leg.

"You didn't have sufficient cover. If you'd gone down few more yards the buildings are arranged so there is a blind spot that it supposed to have a guard but we left off to help you," Natasha explained. "But that was some good work taking down all those agents." Emma smiled at the praise, and they all turned to Daisy's clip expectantly. She was the only one who'd actually made it away and everyone wanted to know how.

It was weird for Daisy to watch herself. It was even weirder to hear Natasha's notes. "There is about a 5 cm edge on those stairs you could have held on to if you flipped your hands. Your fingers would have thanked you. As for the window jump there is little you can do there, but a roll could have helped dissipate the energy if you timed it right. I'll show you once you're cleared. And I have to say, hiding in the trash was a brilliant idea, we actually did lose you off the cameras until you ended up out of the compound after getting off the truck."

They each then offered suggestions and compared notes, but Daisy didn't pay much attention. She was really understanding what it meant to think like an agent, to think like Black Widow, and she wanted to someday impress Natasha Romanoff again.


	49. Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Daisy's last two months at the Academy went by without incident. She was incredibly sad to leave, but excited to know she'd been assigned to work on Director Fury's helicarrier. Surely wherever he was had to be interesting, even if for her internship she was technically doing desk work.'

It hurt like Hell to say by to Fitzsimmons, but Daisy knew it wouldn't be forever. They could still text and would surely see each other again. It was a small world, and an even smaller organization. They'd be back; Daisy knew it.

Tony loved Daisy's progress updates from the helicarrier, because she was incredibly bored. Bored meant safe, which was good for Tony and Pepper, and bed for Daisy. She got tired of tracing phones to locate suspects for cases she wasn't allowed to know about. She got tired of hacking into computers to track down files she wasn't supposed to read. (She did read them though, because she was that bored that she didn't care about getting in trouble again because of stupid security clearances. So she was a level 3, if she was qualified enough to find a document for a level 7 agent she was qualified to read it.

And that was the issue, qualification. She'd been so overqualified for everything at the Communication's Academy that she barely even took its curriculum. She knew more about being a Operative than a techie, and it drove her nuts. She wanted to get out and do something, but she couldn't. For ten months she couldn't. Ten months she did nothing but make paper airplanes while waiting for another assignment she'd just do in five minutes. It was horrible. It was the job she could have had at Stark Industries, and it was horrible. Daisy was honestly ready to quit when Deputy Director Maria Hill stopped by her computer.

"Cadet Stark?" Daisy nodded, surprised to be visited by such an important Agent. Then again she still went to get drinks with Clint, Natasha, and Coulson regularly (despite only being 19), so really she shouldn't have been that shocked. "Director Fury needs you in his office."

Okay, that was definitely a new one. Not only was Director Fury asking to speak with Daisy, whom he hadn't seen since she was 16, but he sent his Deputy Director to get her. That was big. That was very big. It meant Agent Hill told Fury something so big he didn't want to risk telling a different messenger.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" Daisy knocked on the door, and Fury opened it wider for her to come in. He was pacing back and forth, a set of photos on his desk. Daisy wasn't close enough to see them properly, but they looked vaguely like a popsicle. A giant popsicle.

"Daisy Stark," Fury greeted. "You've grown since we last met." Not really. Daisy stopped growing at 13, but she'd certainly aged. She could barely remember the fool she'd been when her dad first built the suit and drew Fury to their house. It felt like such a long time ago. Daisy had changed a lot, she'd become an agent, if an incredibly bored and overqualified one. "What do you know about Captain America?"

Daisy had vivid flashbacks to when her dad used a model of Cap's S.H.I.E.L.D to level out his machine. "I know the story, why? What do you need from me?"

"You're one of the few people in this organization who know about the Avenger's Initiative Miss Stark." As far as Daisy knew that had been shut down, but she didn't say as much. You didn't fight with Director Fury. "You're also a Communications Intern with more field experience than half the punks graduating from the Academy this year. And you're the only living 0-8-4. You're unique Miss Stark, and that makes you uniquely qualified for a time sensitive mission."

She couldn't help but perk up at the words. Mission? She was actually getting to go on a real mission? "What is it?"

"Captain America has been found," Daisy wondered for a moment if he meant Captain America's body, but realized Fury would have said so if that was the case. "He's been frozen in ice since the 40's. Frozen alive." Captain America was alive? "He hadn't aged, and when our scientists finish unfreezing him he won't know that any time has passed. We're going to need to break it to him slowly. I want you to pretend to be an SSR nurse and be there when he wakes."

It didn't make sense to Daisy why it would be her, but she didn't question it. Fury could lie all he wanted if it meant Daisy got to do something… and if the thing she was doing happened to involve her meeting Captain 'freaking' America, well all the better. "How long until he wakes up?"

Not very long at all apparently. They outfitted Daisy easily, and she couldn't help but feel like it was all wrong. She'd read that the bras used to be different, and why did they insist she wear her hair down. "If I'm a nurse it would be up," Daisy pointed out. She didn't know that much about the 40's, but she knew that.

"Director Fury wanted you to look exactly how you do," one of the other agents who'd helped Daisy get dressed answered with a shrug. "If he says it's right then I trust him."

That girl was an idiot. Daisy trusted Fury, but she didn't trust Fury not to lie. There was another game going on there. Hell, there were always games going on in Fury's head. Daisy didn't like being a piece, but it was better she than anyone else.

"You're going to be unarmed," the stupid agent continued. "But if he starts to realize something if off press this panic button, okay?"

Daisy took the button, knowing full well she would be using it. Fury probably wanted Captain Rodgers to know something was off. That was why he had left small things, like Daisy's hair, all wrong. And as soon as she walked into that room she'd know if she was right.


	50. Chapter 50

Chapter 50

"Oh good, you're awake," Daisy greeted trying not to completely fangirl. Her dad was Iron Man she reminded herself. She didn't need to freak because here was the original superhero. She just had to remain calm and play her part. Natasha had taught her to lie, to act, to be an agent. Daisy would be.

Captain America didn't seem to be liking her nice act. "Where am I?"

"You're in a recovery room in New York city," Daisy lied, remembering the stupid script she'd been told to memorize. "You were injured in the crash and were brought here."

He stood, and was quite an intimidating presence. Still, Daisy wasn't worried. He was a good guy, and even if he wasn't the good guy, she could still take care of herself. "Where am I really?"

"In a recovery room, in New York city," Daisy replied, but he obviously wasn't buying it. Good. Daisy would have been disappointed if he did.

"The game. It's from May 1941. I know cause I was there," Steve answere getting up and looming over her. "Now I'm going to ask you again, where am I?"

Daisy hit the panic button, but continued to smile. "Captain Rodgers, you should be in bed. Let the doctor come in and check you out and then I'll prove to you myself it's New York City."

It was a good attempt, but Captain wasn't having any of it. He pushed past her, knocked the arriving agents though the wall, and ran out. Daisy called it in, not the least bit worried. This was Fury's plan; she knew it. He could have picked a baseball game from around the time Cap's plane went down, but he didn't. He picked one from years earlier. Just as he picked the wrong style bra and the wrong hairstyle for Daisy. It was all a test for Captain America, to see if he was really as good as the stories said. And damn if he wasn't.

Fury led Captain America, who now looked truly overwhelmed, back inside, and beckoned Daisy over. "Agent Stark, would you mind debriefing Captain Rodgers?"

"Stark?" Captain perked up at the name. "Are you Howard's wife?"

Apparently the whole 70 years thing still wasn't clicking in his mind. He seemed to not get that that was a whole lot of time. It was not just a few years worth of changes, but a lifetime's.

"Granddaughter," Daisy corrected with a sympathetic smile as she sat down across from Captain America. "I never met my grandfather, but my dad says he talked about you a lot."

"Howard's dead?" Damn it, Daisy was supposed to be making him comfortable with the present, not feeling terrible about most everyone he knew being dad. "What about Peggy?"

"She's alive," Daisy promised. She'd never met the founder of S.H.I.E.L.D, but she knew the woman was still kicking, even if the woman didn't know she was still kicking. "I'm sorry that this happened to you. It's incomprehensible."

Captain Rodgers cracked a smile. "Howard having children isn't. Tell me about your family."

"I'm supposed to be telling you about the present," Daisy laughed. She liked him, a lot, and not just because he was the hero of her childhood.

"Well, I imagine anyone related to Howard Stark holds large influence over the present, so I'm sure you'll find a way to make it relevant."

Well, kind of. Daisy didn't want to brag but her dad was pretty damn important. "My dad's name is Tony. He's… he's a lot like how you remember Howard. Or he used to be, he's calming down, mostly. He's a brilliant inventor, a playboy, philanthropist, slightly insane but in a good way…"

"And he likes woman?"

Daisy rolled her eyes, but nodded. "He's actually in a committed relationship though, so like I said, he's calming down." He certainly didn't throw parties which resulted in fist fights. Sure, he still liked a party, but they were classier, more like formal dinners than anything. He was finally acting his age, if slightly battier. "He's also a superhero I guess I should say. If you look out the window most days you'll see him flying about the city in a giant metal suit. He doesn't have powers like you, but yeah, I guess I should have begun with him being Iron Man."

"Are there a lot of superheroes around?" Daisy thought of Natasha, Clint, her dad, Hell, even Thor. And that giant green one that tore up NYC a while ago? Yeah, there actually were a Hell of a lot of heroes. "You know what, I don't want to know."

Daisy smiled. A hero who was freaked out by heroes. "Look, I don't know how to recap the past 70 years. I'd suggest looking up each decade on Wikipedia…" Cap looked so confused, and Daisy realized he didn't even know about home computers. "Technology is the biggest change. We have lots of small computers." She pulled out her phone. "This is a cell phone, it allows me to do most anything, including search the internet, which is basically a whole bunch of digital books or…" Okay, Daisy had absolutely no idea what she was doing. "I'm sorry, I'm terrible at this. Fury only picked me because I'm related to Howard."

"You're doing fine," Cap assured which made Daisy feel worse. She was supposed to be helping him, not the other way around. "It's just a lot to wrap my mind around. Why don't we start with the history, how did the war end?"

Okay, okay Daisy could work with that. She thought back to her high-school history classes and outlined the end of the war and the decades after it. He seemed personally insulted by the whole premise of the Vietnam war, which amused Daisy. He was even more insulted to discover he was considered a superhero. "It's true!"

"I didn't do anything any other man wouldn't have done," he argued looking flustered. (Which was so very understandable considering) "I just had different opportunities."

Daisy couldn't help but sit forward in her chair so she was far closer to Captain Rodgers than she'd been before. "But that's the point! You were given incredible abilities and used them to save so many people. You destroyed Hydra! You released prisoners! A superhero is just a hero that is given far greater opportunities than the rest of humanity. The war had lots of heroes, but only one superhero, only one Captain America."

"I never asked to be a superhero."

Oh, wow, he was really as good as she'd imagined. "That's why you're so fit to be one. My dad built his suit when he was kidnapped by terrorists. He never wanted to be a superhero, but he became one to survive, and stayed as one to save people. You are the same."

"And are you a superhero too?"

No, Daisy wasn't even a hero. She thought she'd be as part of S.H.I.E.L.D, but that wasn't apparently the reality of life. "Like I said, we can't all be."

"Agent Stark," a woman poked her head into the room, Daisy and Captain Rodgers both. "Director Fury sent me to bring Captain Rodgers to the apartment we've set up him with. You're free to go."

Daisy wasn't surprised to find that she didn't want to go. She liked this man, a lot. He was the stuff of legends and deserved the reputation. "Make sure you show him how to use a computer, show him how Wikipedia works," Daisy suggested standing up. "Here's my number," she scribbled it on a paper. "If you have any questions feel free to call me, I'm never very busy. And I'll take you to meet my dad sometime, if you'd like."

"Thank you Agent Stark," Captain Rodgers smiled taking the paper. "I'm sorry for almost attacking you earlier."

Daisy wanted to say it was the most excitement she'd had all year, but figured the other agent would disapprove. "You can call me Daisy, Captain Rodgers."

"Steve," he answered with a nod. "To any relative of Howard I'm just Steve."


	51. Chapter 51

I'm so sorry for forgetting yesterday. Still, 50 straight days is pretty damn good, right? Anyway I have exams and am sick so it's not a good combination when it comes to brain function so forgive me.

* * *

Chapter 51

Daisy had gotten the night off to celebrate the opening of Stark Towers. Her dad was flying about, plugging things in while Daisy and Pepper sat on the couch chatting. "So I met Captain America today," Pepper chuckled surprising Daisy. "He wandered into the tower asking if it belonged to you."

Daisy blushed red. Captain Rodgers had come looking for her? "Tell me Dad didn't find out."

"You're 19," Pepper reminded. "Don't let you father keep you from dating."

"He threatened to show up at any guy's house in the suit," Daisy remarked with raised eyebrow "Anyway, it doesn't matter anyways. I was just the first person he met in this time. And I think he misses Howard and I'm as close as he can get."

Pepper nodded with a grin sparkling on her face. "Oh I'm sure that's all. He said he was going to call you after I showed him how to use the phone."

Daisy couldn't help but smile. Was he actually interested in seeing her again? Why would he be? He was Captain' freaking' America, and she was just Iron Man's daughter. As much as she'd tried to be more she really wasn't. "Well if he calls I tell you," As Daisy said it, her phone rang. She thought for a moment that Captain Rodgers had telepathically known they were talking about him and called, but it was Coulson. The man was officially Daisy's S.O., not that she ever needed anything since she sat at a desk all day. The only reason she had any sort of S.O. was because she needed one to do things like be there when Captain America woke up from his nap. (Was it a 'cap' nap? Daisy felt bad for even wondering.)

"What's up AC?"

"I need you to come in." Daisy didn't think she'd ever heard Coulson sound so grave. "Loki is back. Agent Barton is compromised, and I need you to go with Natasha to bet the big guy."

"I thought my dad wasn't approved for the Avengers."

"Oh no, I'm debriefing your dad. You and Nat have the big, green guy."

Hulk? He was an Avenger and Daisy was going with Natasha to get him? She wasn't a field agent, yet Fury kept sending her out to ret Avengers. Unless… unless that was the point. She met Nat and her dad accidentally, but after that… Why had she been sent to New Mexico? Why had she been the one to debrief Steve? Perhaps Fury was trying to unite these heroes, unite them around her.

"I've got to go," Daisy told pepper clicking off her phone. "Don't get too cozy. I think Coulson is heading over to talk to dad."

Pepper paled. As much as she liked the S.H.I.E.L.D agents who'd helped Daisy, she knew this couldn't be good. "Something's wrong, isn't it?"

"Oh you know," Daisy smiled to pretend not to be scared. "It's just a normal day in the office. There's only an alien I pissed off mind controlling my friends."

"Fury really likes his games, doesn't he? " Daisy mused as she and Natasha sped to India.

The agent smirked. "You realizing that is the first step to getting you off desk duty."

Daisy doubted that. Perhaps she'd proven herself capable of being in the field, and yet she wasn't given a field team. Her dad had probably bribed them so they never would now that Daisy thought about it.

"I want you to talk to Dr. Banner. Agent Romanoff ordered as they touched down. "I'll be there to make sure the Other Guy doesn't show up, but I won't you to do the talking.

Daisy was pretty sure that was a bad idea, and 100% sure that she'd do it. If she could unite the Avengers she'd basically be one. Maybe she could really be one…

The little girl they'd paid brought Bruce Banner to Daisy and Natasha, who sat waiting in silence.

"You don't look much older than her," Bruce noted looking over Daisy.  
Do they start you all too young?"

Yes. Eighty was too young to start in the world of S.H.I.E.L.D. It was a dangerous, miserable place. Yet it was also a job that had to be done. "She's not a spy, just a girl who likes to have a little cash."

"Who are you?" Banner asked, pacing back and forth. He didn't give them a chance to respond before continuing. "Are you here to kill me?"

Daisy felt bad for him. Having powers would be nice, but only if your powers didn't have a life of their own, and violent tendencies. "No Dr. Banner," Daisy replied remembering that Nat had told her to take the lead. "We don't want to hurt you. My name is Daisy Stark, this is Natasha Romanoff. We're S.H.I.E.L.D agents."

Banner scowled, and ran his fingers through his hair. Daisy had never seen someone like so naturally anxious. He was probably always like this, and for good reason. It couldn't be healthy though. Apparently stress didn't trigger the Hulk, but it couldn't be good for Bruce Banner.

"S.H.I.E.L.D… how did you find me?"

Daisy didn't know, and looked to Natasha for an answer. The senior agent still didn't speak up. "It doesn't matter. What matters is that we need your help. The world is in danger and we need you to help save it."

"Daisy Stark," Dr. Banner repeated lingering on her last name. "I may be living in the middle of nowhere to avoid S.H.I.E.L.D, but I've heard your name before. If there is really such a great danger why doesn't Iron Man save it?"

He would be helping, but he couldn't do it alone. (Despite what he might like to think.) "Because my dad doesn't know as much about Gamma radiation as you do."

"How do I know I can trust you? How do I know your silent little friend isn't just going to put me in a cage?"

Daisy figured Natasha would speak up at that, but she didn't. Why? Daisy had no idea what game she was paying? Natasha could be just as charming as Daisy, why not speak up? "Natasha isn't going to put you in a cage. No one is. Look, Dr. Banner, S.H.I.E.L.D is wary of you, it's true. I'm wary of you myself, but that doesn't mean you're not a brilliant scientist. I don't want the Other Guy to stop you from being what you really are."

"And if the Other Guy doesn't want to be a scientist?"

Daisy moved close to Dr. Banner, and looked right into his eyes. "I don't believe you're a threat anymore than I am. Unknowns can be scary, but that doesn't make them evil. Please, will you help us?"


	52. Chapter 52

Chapter 52

Flying back to the helicarrier with Banner and Romanoff felt odd. Daisy had been working there for months, but it was different now. Now the Avengers would be there to save the world. Hopefully Daisy would have more chances to help. She would not just stay on the sidelines again. She was basically an agent now, she could fight.

Once they landed, Fury came to talk to Banner, and Daisy went back to her desk. Just as she sat down and spun in her chair, she heard a voice. "Daisy?"

She turned to see Steve Rodgers heading over to her "Oh, hey. This must be annoying, coming in before you can even get settled into the new time."

"No, actually, this is good, fighting feels…normal." How sad for anyone to be used to war. "Um, tell your mom thanks for showing me how to use a cell phone."

Daisy almost corrected that Pepper wasn't her mom, but figured she shouldn't lie. "I was surprised that you came around. Was there something you needed?"

Steve blushed. "No, it was stupid… I just like talking to you. You remind me of someone I used to know."

"I I am his granddaughter," Daisy laughed.

"No, not Howard, Peggy."

Peggy, Peggy Carter? Daisy laughed at the sheer thought of being compared to the hero of a woman and S.H.I.E.L.D Peggy Carter.

I'm serious," Steve smiled a bit, and Daisy felt her heart flutter No! No! No! She could not be crushing on Steve Rodgers. You can't just have a crush on Captain America! "You're both bold, smart, beautiful…"

Daisy blushed pink, and then red when Natasha spoke up "Stop flirting with the intern and let her track down Loki."

"Sorry," Captain Rodgers back off as it he'd actually been bother Daisy and not making her day "'ll let you get back to work."

She did go back to work but couldn't focus. It wasn't just Captain Rodgers distracting her. I was the fact that Thor's brother was causing trouble Clint was being mind controlled. Her dad had yet to show up. Was something wrong? Should she all and make sure he was coming? Would that make him think she was a scared child? Daisy wasn't scared, but she felt useless. She had every program she knew of searching for Loki, but he wasn't showing his head. She could find him if anyone could but…

"He's heading to Germany, Daisy announced to the Avengers. "Probably because of the Iridium there." No one asked how she knew that. She was a Stark-they tended to know everything.

And then the Avengers left and Daisy was back alone at her desk wondering how she ever thought life as a communications agent would be more interesting than begging for an Iron girl suit.

"Daisy Maria Stark." The Avengers returned victorious, with Loki, Thor, and Daisy's dad in tow. "I know you're here. Saying you have a high-flying assignment is very clever considering."

Daisy blushed as everyone stared while Tony called to her. They knew he was her dad of course; the days of hiding as Daisy Johnson were long past. Still, no one expected him to call her out the moment he arrived on the helicarrier. They didn't know him. They didn't know that that was exactly the kind of thing he did.

"Yes," Daisy answered heading over to where her dad was being himself. "Does the great Iron Man need something?"

"Flower of Midgard!" Thor greeted crushing Daisy in a bro hug. Nat laughed at Daisy's horror. Tony was even more horrified. Steve looked away embarrassed. "The man of iron is your father! I almost crushed him in battle until the Captain mentioned you."

Tony turned to Fury who was watching them casually. "Does my daughter know all of them?"

"Yes," the Avengers admitted and Tony glared. Daisy laughed: someone didn't want to share.

"Relax Dad," Daisy patted him on the shoulder. "You're still my favorite hero."

Her dad beamed, and then Daisy remembered her boss was standing there Oops. "Sorry, Director. I'll get back to work"

"Let her stay with us," Tony suggested. "She can help." Daisy doubted there was much she could do that they couldn't, but she would be glad not to be stuck at her desk and to be here with the heroes.

Fury seemed amused b toe proposition, but nodded. "Fine, Agent Stark is in charge. Get to work and find the Tesseract."

Bruce and Tony began speaking, and Daisy appeared to be the only one who could keep up. She didn't pay much attention though. She was looking at the little device her dad had attached to Fury's computer.

"And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster."

Daisy wasn't really paying attention to the science talk, but she knew enough to keep an ear out for her father's more offensive comments. "Ignore my father," Daisy told Dr. Banner. "He's a raging alcoholic and certifiable idiot."

"I don't mind," Banner smiled kindly at Daisy. "Let me show you the lab, Mr. Stark. We can get to work finding that cube."

Tony looked between his daughter and the other Avengers, shocked that not even Daisy would side with him. He shouldn't have been shocked. She loved her dad, but she also accepted that he was about as mature as a baby.

Still, he didn't object as Daisy led them to the lab. No, he was a sucker for a good lab. Computers and machines made him about as happy as Daisy and Pepper. (But Daisy liked to think he was finally reaching a point where the humans could come first.)

"If we bypass their mainframe and direct a reroute to the Homer Cluster, we can clock this around six hundred teraflops," Tony suggested as he and Banner babbled about how to find the Tesseract quickly.

"You know I set H.O.M.E.R. up with J.A.R.V.I.S," Daisy interjected and everyone stared. "What? I was bored. Anyway if you wanted to you could combine their processing power to speed things up. I could also tap into all S.H.I.E.L.D devices, use them to run it. Granted I could do that with all Stark Phones too, use a fraction of their power for this, but the security would be a nightmare."

Tony nodded his approval, and Daisy beamed. She loved succeeding outside her father, but she loved her father appreciating her success even more. "Start with S.H.I.E.L.D. It's time we found ourselves an alien toy."


	53. Chapter 53

Chapter 53

Daisy could tell her father was getting bored. The program was running, tracing the Tesseract twice as fast as it could have without Daisy's help, but it wasn't immediate. Tony was bored, and it was obvious when he poked Banner.

"What the Hell dad," Daisy physically smacked him before Captain Rodgers could even speak. "No, poking. Honestly you're supposed to be the one teaching me to keep my hands to myself. You honestly make me wonder which of us is the dad and which of us is the kid."

Banner smiled softly, "It's alright, Daisy. I wouldn't be here if I couldn't handle little things like that."

"That's not the point," Daisy wasn't going to let her dad off the hook so easily. She was in charge. She was the agent (almost). He would respect her and not just see her as the awkward teenager who he first met. "You don't push people's buttons for fun, not when people's lives are at stake, okay?" Tony didn't reply, but his eyes said everything. He was shocked that Daisy would speak to him like that, but he understood her. He understood why she was putting him in his place. He didn't like it, but he understood it.

"Are you going to yell at me for the decryption program too, because I know you saw that. By the way, why didn't you rat me out to Fury. It looks like he has you pretty deep in his pocket."

Daisy barely spoke to Director Fury. Most of her interactions were with Coulson, Clint, and Nat. Still, she understood what he was saying. She'd gotten a lot because of her optimal position as peacekeeper. Fury needed her to do things like stop her dad from unleashing the Hulk. "As an agent I wasn't concerned. I encrypted all of S.H.I.E.L.D's files myself and I know you can't get through what I set up."

"Are you really smarter than him?" Captain Rodgers seemed impressed, and Daisy blushed at his words.

"Not smarter probably," she grinned going over to the computer and decrypting the files herself. "But better with computers certainly. Anyway, what were you looking for? Technically I blocked myself out of all these files, but that was more of a 'lead us not into temptation' thing." Tony came round to her side of the computer, but she swiveled more so he couldn't see the screen. "I'm in charge, remember. Tell me what you want and I'll pull it up and if I think it's information you should have I'll share."

Even Steve looked a bit bothered by that assessment. "Who are you to decide what we can and can't know?"

Daisy actually had to think on that for a second. Why should she decide what was shared and what wasn't? There were groups out there that Daisy respected for sharing all information, but she also saw the dangers in that. She knew that there was stuff out there that people were better off not knowing. Things that should they come to light would satisfy curiosity, and get people killed in the process. "I'm the one devoted to being the shield between your world of superheroes and the real world of human beings. And I'm also the only one who can make the call, so it has to fall to me. What do you want to know?"

"Why was I not called in on the Tesseract? It's clean energy like the arc reactor, why wasn't I called in?" For a split second Daisy thought this was about her father's ego and was not going to indulge him, but then she wondered herself. There were whispers in S.H.I.E.L.D about how to fight those with powers. There was a lot of talk about what they'd do if next time a Thor showed up he wasn't so friendly.

Tony thought S.H.I.E.L.D was building weapons, and Daisy searched for the files because she figured he was probably right.

"They're making weapons to fight off an alien invasion or other superhuman threat," Daisy sighed, turning the screen so they could see the guns and aircrafts. "There are dozens of projects, Insight, Phase 2. It would take years to look through all the things S.H.I.E.L.D has come up with to stop people with powers, people like us."

"Us?" Captain Rodgers repeated Daisy's word, looking at her anew. Daisy cursed herself. She hadn't explained the 0-8-4 thing to her father, and didn't plan on telling him, or any of the Avengers.

"You guys, my dad, the Avengers," Daisy deflected flipping through the files. "It looks like phase 2 was specifically designed to use the Tesseract as a power source."

"How do you work for these people," Tony sounded disgusted, and disappointed in Daisy. She found anger bubbling within her. Technically he was working for them as well at the moment! She knew S.H.I.E.L.D could be messed up, but they were trying to do what they could under impossible circumstances.

Daisy didn't get a chance to defend herself though, because she heard Natasha's voice coming from the coms in her ear. "Loki means to unleash the Hulk. Daisy, you need to separate him from the other Avengers."

"Dr. Banner, I need you to come with me. We'll resolve this issue later, but for now there is something we need to take care of."

"Something's wrong," Tony realized knowing his daughter well enough to feel her panic despite her calm exterior. "What is more dangerous than S.H.I.E.L.D with weapons to destroy superheroes?"

Superheroes themselves. "Just please come with me Dr. Banner. I'll owe you an explanation later, but for now we need to go. Dad, Captain Rodgers, no fighting. Just eat your blueberries or call Pepper or something, okay?"

"Where are you bringing me?" Dr. Banner fretted as Daisy led him down spiraling hallways. "You rented my cell to Loki."

"If it makes you feel better we also have an EMP to shut down my dad's suit, and enough tranqs to knock even a supersoldier out," Daisy admitted with a shrug. They didn't have any safety precautions for Thor of course, because they had no idea how to stop aliens. Hence why phase 2 was a thing, even if it was one of their more terrible ideas. "I'm bringing you to a basic lodging quarters. You're not a threat, so long as you're away from the others. Loki thinks the whole team is a ticking time bomb, and knowing my dad's in the mix means he's probably right."

Dr. Banner followed silently for a minute, but as they made their way to the more secluded end of the ship, he couldn't help but speak up. "You and your father, do you not get along?"

"We get along fine," Daisy shrugged not sure how to describe it. "He just does stupid things a lot, and we both know it. He usually only gets mad when I call him out on it, but he doesn't hold grudges against me for it. We've only gotten in huge fights once or twice, and not in years." Dr. Banner seemed surprised by that, probably because of how much Daisy had been scolding her father since he showed up. "We'll never be normal, but what we have is nice."

Bruce opened his mouth as if to say something, but found himself, and Daisy flung across the corridor. Something had blown up, that was for sure, and the Other guy didn't seem to like it. Within an instant Daisy could see the bulging green muscles of the Hulk. She's managed to keep the other Avengers from being in the fight, but now she was stuck with him in a crumbling ship, and with no way out.

"Dr. Banner, you need to relax," Daisy attempted to keep her voice steady, and didn't even bother pulling the gun on her side. For one, she'd never shot anything outside Ops class, and two it wasn't like a simple bullet could stop the Hulk. "There is no threat, probably just turbulence." Turbulence that felt surprisingly like an explosion.

It didn't appear that Daisy's calming voice was doing much good. The Hulk was coming out, and Dr. Banner disappeared, engulfed by the monster he hated. "Raaaaar!" the Hulk roared smashing the ground next to Daisy.

"Get out of here!" Daisy called to the mechanics coming to see what was wrong. "I'll be fine, just keep out!"

Fine was probably an exaggeration. The Hulk was raging around her, trying to crush her as well as the ship. Daisy needed to get out, but she also needed to stop the Hulk. How could she though? He was a raging monster that hadn't been taken down by tanks. Nothing could stop the Hulk.

No, she needed to get him out of the ship. Dr. Banner surely wouldn't be hurt, the Hulk couldn't be killed, but everyone on the Helicarrier could be. "Hey big guy," Daisy called and the Hulk raged towards her. Daisy took off in a flash and he lumbered towards her. If it really had been a bomb, then there was a hole in the helicarrier. If there was a hole in the helicarrier… well gravity worked on superheroes.

Daisy led the Hulk down a stairway, which he promptly broke. At the bottom she noticed the weaken beams. If she got the Hulk down there he'd fall right through, but if she was down there she'd fall as well. She'd have to stay on the staircase while the Hulk went down it, and somehow not get run over.

Daisy sang praises to Natasha Romanoff as she held on to the stairway the 'right' way. Her muscles ached as she hung on, but it did the trick. The Hulk bent the stairs and fell straight through the hanger floor. As he did though, the stairs came crashing down on top of Daisy. She found herself hanging from the helicarrier, wind burning her face as she stared at the open sky.

Her leg was trapped under the broken stairway, but that was the least of her problem. Her problem was getting her leg out without falling out the same way the Hulk did. She wouldn't survive like he did.

Pain seared as she pulled the broken bone out balancing herself the best she could. With a final tug, she managed to get it free, and breathed a sigh of relief as she scrambled away from the edge. She had just begun to cry in relief when she heard a sickening crack, and the weakened floor opened up beneath her.


	54. Chapter 54

Chapter 54

Flying and falling are no different until you reach the ground, but it felt different to Daisy. She let out a blood curdling scream as she fell from the hanger, down, down, down. She was going to hit the ground and go splat. She was going to die.

"Shh, I got you." Daisy felt cold arms wrap around her, and she caught her breath. "You're fine Daisy. I've got you."

Daisy sobbed into her dad's cold, titanium alloy shoulder. "The Hulk fell and then I…" She looked up, and hated that she couldn't see her dad's face. He was Iron Man saving someone, but she couldn't feel her dad. It broke her heart. "I'm not even old enough to drink."

"You should never have joined S.H.I.E.L.D," Tony cursed lifting his distraught daughter back onto the helicarrier. "I should have stopped you."

They landed back on the helicarrier where the invasion seemed to have come to an end. Daisy had stopped crying, but she still felt like she was falling to her death. She could barely breathe, but spoke anyways. "I wouldn't have let you."

"Will you now?" he asked, pulling off his helmet so Daisy could see his face. She was shocked to discover the streaks of tears on his face. He'd been crying as well. "Please Daisy, quit S.H.I.E.L.D. Work for me and be safe."

It was such a tempting offer. She'd thought her life in S.H.I.E.L.D would be more exciting than working for her dad, that she could make a difference, but she wasn't. She was sitting at a desk all day, bored out of her mind, and doing nothing. Stark Industries was inventing things to change lives. In S.H.I.E.L.D Daisy did nothing. She'd worked so hard and given up any hopes of a normal life. And for what? She hadn't even been good enough to keep the Hulk from destroying the helicarrier. She got him off the plane, true, but she should have been able to do more. She couldn't though. She wasn't making any difference in S.H.I.E.L.D. Daisy didn't belong.

Daisy was so sure of it that she was about to tell her dad she would quit when she heard Fury's voice over the Coms device still resting in her ear. "Agent Coulson is down."

From the moment Daisy met Coulson, she'd known there was something special about him. His suit was cheap and worn. He seemed uncomfortable, unsure, and yet so wholly driven. He knew what he wanted and he worked to achieve it. Daisy remembered how enamored she'd been with the man. Truly he was incredible. Coulson could put up with even Tony; he had to be incredible.

Every time Daisy saw Coulson she was reminded of a comet. He seemed so sure of his choices, his mission. Daisy had wanted more than anything to be that confident herself. She wanted to be sure of something instead of questioning everything as she did. She wanted to be like Coulson.

Natasha was the one to sign off on Daisy's Academy application, it was true, but Natasha wasn't the one to first believe in Daisy. Coulson was. Coulson never treated Daisy like a child, even though she'd been one. He protected her, but he didn't make her feel useless. Coulson had seen the girl she was, and recognized the woman she could be. Daisy had spent the months before she met Coulson working to impress her missing father, but after she met Coulson things changed. Daisy finally did things for herself, to help her become a formidable and independent person. Coulson never said or did anything to catalyze that change in Daisy, and yet he had never-the-less. Meeting Coulson had changed Daisy just as much as meeting her dad had.

And he was dead. They tried to hide it away in a makeshift morgue, but Daisy could make out the body bag from her infirmary bed. It was just another thing that made her want to get far, far away from where she was, but the doctors wouldn't let her. She had a broken leg, and yet they were treating her as if she was about to die, watching her carefully to make sure she was safe. Daisy suspected her father was bribing them to do so, or perhaps they were just scared of what would happen if Iron Man's daughter died suddenly while under their care.

Clint was in a containment box beside Daisy, but he wouldn't look up at her. He'd been mind controlled, and yet somehow still managed to blame himself for Coulson's death. They both knew how much Daisy cared for Coulson, and so Clint couldn't look at Daisy without feeling guilty. She thought that was ridiculous. Surely Clint knew Coulson better than she ever did, Coulson having been Clint and Natasha's handler for a great many years. Daisy should have been expressing her condolences to him, not the other way around.

"You know it's not your fault," Daisy sighed figuring if Clint wasn't going to start the conversation she had to. "Coulson's death, the destruction of the Helicarrier, none of it is your fault."

Clint looked up, his eyes haunted in the way Daisy had seen Natasha and her dad's before. It was the look that reminded Daisy of the fact that she'd been through tons of shit, but they'd been through more.

"Coulson knew the job's dangers," Clint replied, probably trying to make himself feel better as well. "I'm upset because I almost got you killed."

What? Clint was beating himself up because she had a broken leg? Was he ridiculous? People had died. Coulson had died! And he was upset because Daisy's leg was sticking out at an awkward angle? "I'm an agent the same as him. I know the job's dangers too."

Clint laughed at that. "You're not an agent, you're a kid. No security clearance or badge is going to change that. You… you're Lila in fifteen years. Cooper in twelve!" Daisy had no idea who Lila and Cooper were, but Clint seemed horrified at the idea of them having anything close to Daisy's life. "You shouldn't have gotten hurt."

"Why does everyone still think of me as a kid? I'm an adult! I can take care of myself! I can fight. I'm not helpless anymore." Even as Daisy said the words she knew they weren't particularly true. She'd sobbed earlier in the day, and she still always felt so scared and helpless. She wanted everyone to treat her like an adult, like a competent agent, but she wasn't one.

Clint smiled at her childish denial. "You could be fifty and I'll still think of you as a kid. I think we all will. I can't explain it to you Daisy, but that's just the way it is."

Well Daisy found it remarkably annoying, and would have said so too if she hadn't noticed her dad fighting with a doctor down the hall. Whatever they were fighting about must have been resolved, because Tony stalked towards Daisy speaking, "They need to put you under to reset your leg."

Oh great, just what Daisy wanted. "Okay," she caved handing her phone to her dad. "I have it set up to track the Tesseract. You should know where it is soon."

"Even if it finds it I'll be here when you wake up," Tony promised, squeezing his daughter's hand tight. "The world can wait."


	55. Chapter 55

Chapter 55

Tony broke his promise, and Daisy was glad for it. When she woke up she was alone in the infirmary and saw a battle raging around Stark Towers on the TV in front of her. There in the midst of it was her dad. An army of aliens destroyed everything in sight, and yet Iron Man fought back with all his strength. The Avengers truly seemed to be winning.

Daisy, despite feeling like shit, sat up to watch the battle unfolding. More than anything she wanted to be out there fighting, helping, but she knew she'd have been no use. She was a good fighter when 100%, but with a broken leg she'd have just been a target. A target that every Avenger would have been working to protect. Daisy being there might very well have gotten one of them killed.

At one point Daisy realized her dad was no longer being shown on camera. Fear crept into her as she wondered what happened. Where was he? Had he gotten hurt and the news was trying to keep the peace by not showing? Was he dead?

The vibrating of Daisy's phone spooked her out of her thoughts. Quickly she snatched it up; it was her dad. "Dad? Dad? Are you okay?"

"Oh thank God you're awake," Tony sounded relieved, which only worried Daisy more. "Daisy, I'm not going to lie to you and I don't have much time so you need to listen. I'm carrying a nuke right now, and I'm about to go right through that hole to space with it."

Daisy's breath caught. He was what? "Dad just throw it! Please I can't lose you!"

"You're not going to lose me," he didn't sound so sure of that, and Daisy felt tears streaming down her face. No! No! No! "Daisy I promise I'll come back to you, but if I didn't… if for some reason I didn't come back someday I need you to know that I love you and that you coming into my life was the best thing to ever happen to me. I never felt loved by my father, but now I can't even imagine him not loving me. I can't imagine a father who didn't love their child so much that he'd… that he'd die for her."

"You can't die," Daisy whispered wondering when he'd go through the hole and lose connection. "Not today not ever. Please. Don't do this."

"I love you Daisy," Tony promised and Daisy finally caught sight of him again on the news, flying right into space. "Remember that and tell Pepper that I…"

The phone cut out and Daisy let out a choking sob. No! He had to come back. Any second he'd come back through the portal and be fine. He had to be fine.

The beam opening the portal shut off, and Daisy cried out. No! Her dad wasn't back yet. They couldn't close it. He just needed a few more seconds!

Just as the portal shut Daisy noticed a streak of red falling through it. He had come back through. He was safe. Her dad had made it. He wasn't dead… this time.

Daisy was invited to go out for dinner with the Avengers, and she readily took up the offer. Something told her they would have just eaten in silence if not for her, and she couldn't possibly have that.

Afterwards Daisy returned with her dad to the now-destroyed Stark tower. She couldn't help but laugh that only the A survived, and suspected that her dad probably had some new ideas about what that A could stand for. Daisy knew she most certainly did.

"What was it you were going to have me tell Pepper?" Daisy finally asked as the two of them sat on the half-broken couch in the dark. "When you were going through the portal you told me to tell Pepper something. What was it?"

Daisy couldn't see her dad's face, but she could imagine the pained look on it. "I wanted you to tell her that I love her. Daisy, maybe it makes me a horrible father, but I wanted to call her just as much as I wanted to call you."

"That doesn't make you a horrible dad," Daisy promised fumbling in the dark to find and hold his hand. "It only means that she's as much your family as I am. I feel the same way about her. Hell, I call her mom half the time. You should tell Pepper though, that you love her, that you see her as family."

Tony laughed, but didn't sound too amused. "She'd ask why I didn't just propose and make it official."

Pepper would never do that. She understood that Tony wasn't comfortable with the idea of commitment. Yet now that he had mentioned it… Daisy had never imagined her father marrying Pepper either, but what if he did?

"I think you should. Marry Pepper that is. She's the only person who can put up with you for the rest of your lives. She's already your rock, and I know she loves you the same as you love her. You should propose to her. I would love to see you too married."

Daisy could make out a faint smile on her dad's face. "I wouldn't do that to her. Pepper wants kids, I'm sure of it. And I… I'm not exactly the father type."

Daisy laughed at loud at that. "You realize you just said that to your daughter."

"I didn't mean," Tony sounded guilty. "I'm not saying…"

"I know what you're saying," Daisy saved him, stifling her laughter so not to embarrass him more. "You're saying you wouldn't know what to do with a baby. To be honest I don't think babies are part of Pepper's plan, but even if they were I think you'd be a great father. And I, for one, am talking out of experience."

"What did I do to deserve you?" Tony asked planting a soft kiss on his daughter's temple.

Daisy smiled bright, "Does this mean you're going to do it? Is Pepper actually going to be my mom?"

"Like you said, you're both my family. I may as well make it official. Thank you Daisy, this is another thing I don't think I ever would have done without you."

"What else are daughters for?"

* * *

Okay, this is it, the end. I'm very sad to see it over, but I'm glad as well. It's been a little crazy month and a half. 79K in a month and a half? That's insane! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed. There is a sequel. It's all plotted out on my computer... I just need to write it. I'm writing a star wars fic at the moment which is kind of time sensitive so I need to finish that before I can write the sequel. I promise you will have a sequel though, and probably before Civil War comes out. Also, I sorta need Civil War to write the second half of the sequel, so it will probably be around May you bet the sequel. Don't hate me! I only ever made you wait more than 24 hours once in the past month and a half. You can now wait a few months for the next fic. It's less time than we spend waiting between movies.

Thank you again for reading and reviewing. This is the fourth most reviewed fic in the whole category, and that's just unfathomable for me. So thank you all so much for reading. I'll miss your reviews as I try to get the sequel done. Thanks again, and don't kill me for the wait!


	56. Sequel!

I would like to again thank everyone and tell you the wait is now over and the sequel posted! Here is PART of the first chapter, but you have to go over to the new story to read the rest! Thanks again and enjoy

* * *

Chapter 1

October 2012

Daisy gritted her teeth as she twisted the woman's hair into a painful knot. A sharp cry of pain echoed through the room as Daisy finished her work, putting the last pin in place. Smiling brightly, the S.H.I.E.L.D agent stepped away and admired her effort.

"You look beautiful," Daisy finally concluded, stepping forward to hug her mother. Pepper's dress was simple, but the price tag was high as one would expect for a Stark wedding. Off-white lace looped in intricate patterns down her arms, and the sides. A modest train hung off the back, pleated as to look like the crashing waves of the ocean. Tony had, of course, suggested something ridiculous- "red, or at least made of crystals" but since he'd let the girls plan everything, everything appeared modest. (Tony had, however, set a minimum they could spend, so some things cost far more than they appeared to, but Pepper didn't mind that.)

"Oh Daisy, you look wonderful as well," Pepper answered, pulling the young woman in for another hug. Daisy was the only bridesmaid, and, as such, had gotten to pick out the color of her dress. It was a deep red, a bit too short and a bit too tight, but it was the soft, deep neckline that would probably send her father to his grave. "You look like a real woman, and you are! When did you grow up?"

Daisy wasn't quite sure, but suspected it might have been when aliens invaded New York. Everything had been so different since that day, and whatever innocence Daisy had left disappeared into a wormhole with her father. Iron Man had returned, but not Daisy's childhood. Some things just didn't come back.

But some things did, and for that Daisy and Pepper were eternally grateful. Tony had come back out of that wormhole. Tony had returned from the brink of death, and now he was getting married. Finally he was accepting that the man who partied all night was gone, and that the new man, the husband and father, was far better.


End file.
